A Feather Stolen
by Xera Stark
Summary: Stolen Feather is one of the main pairings in Rogue Huntsman. We figured it'd be nice to see how it all started, so this is the story that addresses the origins of them directly. How Lylac and Anoel first met, got so close, how Ano got Ly through and over one of the most traumatic periods of her life, and the fluff past it. No RH reading needed. Slice of life theme. (Yuri warning)
1. Helplessly Ensnared

A Feather Stolen

Helplessly Ensnared

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Bad intel wasn't necessarily _hard_ to come by.

Not in this field.

But whenever it came up, it reeked. There was just something about it that gave Anoel a sour taste in her mouth.

So whenever someone _gave_ her bad intel, it wasn't that hard to pick apart.

 _Especially_ when that intel asked her to take a sudden excursion on her own to scout out the person of interest she's been tracking down for a week now.

Sure, she was eager.

But so was the man that gave her the lead.

A little too eager. And he wore it on his face just like the fake urgency in his eyes.

She didn't listen. Who would? Adults liked to think they could think circles around kids her age. She was thirteen.

Which was young, sure, but not all thirteen-year-olds helped _run_ an entire information network. Her semblance made it easy. Her social skills and outward persona helped too, but it wasn't a huge secret that she also may have known the head of the network personally.

He kinda raised her into this life, after all.

 _Which_ was why she didn't want to let him down! She was always good at sniffing out bad info, and this really wasn't any different.

So she pretended to leave her quarters. Her little room was close to the head office in the second story of his bar. It wasn't hard to sneak back into it without anyone noticing either. It was just a matter of making her way lightly through the familiar, dark room in utter silence.

 _Somebody_ wanted her to leave.

She wanted to find out who.

Still… she almost fell asleep waiting there for _three hours_ with absolutely nothing to show for it. Why couldn't this stupid person break in already-?!

Her eyes widened in her little perch. Wait a moment.

It'd _definitely_ be stupid, unless it was something she didn't think of…

Were they already hiding inside?

Anoel silently growled as she hugged her legs to her chest up on the bookshelf, eyes narrowing as she tapped into her affinity and looked around.

Little wisping heat trails filtered in through the door, probably from people walking around out in the hall, but there was one in specific Anoel found that entered the room.

It was fainter than the others, but still there. Just muffled and dim.

Anoel was a little miffed at herself for taking this long to switch her focus to heat instead of night vision, but she managed to find its source.

Still… it looked like the little heat signature in the corner was just sitting over there.

Motionless.

Small, shallow breaths left its front in a controlled breathing pattern Anoel recognized as something that could lower heart rate. They were trying really hard to make as little noise as possible.

But… how long were they crouched there? They couldn't have opened the door. Anoel would've seen it. Which meant they must've already been inside when Ano last closed the door.

Ano snuck in through the rafters, but that was because she personally _knew_ how to get in and out of her own room without using the door.

There weren't any windows either. And it didn't help that Ano's room was _definitely_ on the second floor too.

W-wait! They were moving!

Anoel peered through the shadow of her dark cowboy hat as she watched the small heat signature start to stand, its glow starting to fluctuate with the first patterns of movement it's shown in the last three hours.

Something flickered in the silhouette of the glow as it started toward the desk. A dark… distortion fluttered into view before disappearing.

The shape of it. They couldn't have been much older than Anoel herself. Which would explain why they were struggling so much to maintain their invisibility while moving.

Still, it was impressive keeping that semblance up the entire time.

Really impressive, actually.

But why wait so long? Were they just being hesitant? Did they know she's there? Or were they just being really cautious?

Dim eyes watched the figure of heat carefully move behind her personal desk, hands reaching down to silently shuffle through the belongings Anoel kept organized there.

Semi-organized, anyway.

Anoel started to move too, crawling quietly to the edge of the bookshelf as the figure peeled out a sheet of paper from one of the files Ano read recently.

It contained information regarding a recent break-in at the building for city records.

The suspect involved reportedly stole information on a third party and managed to somehow erase all CCTV footage at the same time.

It caught Anoel's and the network's interest because there was no evidence of them ever entering the building at all. No forced entry, no picked locks, not even a strand of hair.

Almost like they walked into an unguarded building, took what they wanted, and left without anyone ever batting an eye.

Why was this person breaking in for _that_ though? Official police records marked it off as a fluke in the system. A technical hiccup that caused a corruption in the databanks.

The info network knew better, but now… it seems other people did too. Ano wasn't expecting competition so soon.

Whoever was breaking in and rummaging through her stuff was after the information already gathered from _them_ regarding that crime in specific.

Anoel slowly made her way down from her perch as the invisible figure gave the paper a momentary read. Weird since the paper was just floating there like that.

But with their attention unaware, Ano stayed low once she made her way to the ground and slipped around the opposite end of her desk. Being a faunus helped with night vision to avoid things, and the couch provided nice cover, but nobody knew her own room like she did.

That was why she didn't squeak when she slipped on the edge of her rug and nearly fell.

No. She knew that was there.

Stupid rug.

Anoel quickly caught the corner of the offending object before it could slap back down and cause a noise, silently resting it back into place against the hardwood floor.

A quiet folding of paper sounded out soon after. They were done confirming the paper was what they wanted.

She needed to move fast.

As soon as the paper disappeared into the invisible pocket of the person holding it, Anoel finally made her way behind the one who broke in and took off her black hat.

Here goes nothing.

Ano gave the person a small tap on their shoulder, stuffing her hat onto their head in the same moment to cover their eyes.

A startled, almost high-pitched yelp tore its way out of the person's throat as Anoel quickly moved around the figure trying to turn around.

It was a girl alright. Unless a boy could reach that pitch…

The girl's invisibility fell in the next moment as Anoel jumped onto her desk, keeping out of the way of the offender as she sat herself down.

 _She's just as young as I am…_

When the visible figure finally realized what was going on, she spun herself entirely around and bumped into Ano's leg as the info-broker sat still on her desk.

Long black hair swayed as Anoel tilted her head, watching as the blinded girl stumbled back while moving a hand up. The form's back crashing against the wall behind the desk just as she pushed the lip of Anoel's hat up to see, tearing it off a moment later.

Anoel just watched with her cheek in her hand, trying to play it cool beneath the heat of the situation. And the fact that she wanted answers.

Like, _really_ wanted answers.

"Who're you?" Ano asked simply, punctuating her question with a flick of her desk lamp on switch. She wanted to start with the simple answers first.

The girl stayed silent as her blue eyes darted around, pushing herself as close to the wall as possible as she froze.

She looked scared.

"I-I…" A nerve-wracked stammer was all she could muster.

Not much to go by...

"'I' isn't a name, honey," Anoel pointed out, kicking her short legs a little as she waited.

The girl's hand quickly darted for her pocket, fumbling around as she dug out the information she stole and slid it across the floor between them.

"I-I'm s-sorry…" she stuttered, her eyes shying away from Anoel with an incredulously guilty expression strewn across her pale, grubby face.

She was apologizing? Did she usually not get caught?

Anoel slowly slipped herself off her desk as she kept her gaze on the thief in front of her, the girl's own eyes still averted away. It almost made her feel bad for scaring her so much with the hat thing.

She'd always wanted to do the hat thing.

The info-broker lightly picked up the sheet of paper and leaned herself against her desk, setting it down behind her for the moment.

"What are you sorry for? You're just curious, aren't you?" Anoel asked, tipping her leg forward to rest its ankle over the front of her other boot. "Or is it something else?"

She suddenly felt off-balance, but she needed to do it. For appearance's sake.

And to make it look like she was _definitely_ super calm right now.

Yeah, super calm.

Ano's heart was beating out of her chest.

The girl's messy, unkempt blonde hair swept from side to side as she shook her head quickly. Her bright cerulean eyes staring at the floor as she slowly brought her legs up and hugged them.

She tried to turn invisible again.

Anoel sighed softly as the girl's eyes closed behind the knees of her tattered blue jeans and her body started to disappear, flickering and wavering more than it did before.

But she still managed to vanish.

Ano pushed herself forward as the girl started to get up, placing her small hands onto the girl's rising shoulders to keep her still.

The tiny action broke the invisibility altogether, blue eyes appearing wide as the semblance fell to pieces and the girl fell back against the floor.

Still stunned.

"I can see you like that, you know," Anoel whispered. She crouched herself down to rest on the backs of her heels, loosely hugging her own legs in front of the girl as she peered over her brown jacket's folded arms.

She still looked scared.

It was weird. Anoel almost felt like she had to be careful here. If she wasn't delicate, she could break her. But it looked like the girl was already breaking.

Or already broken.

"Can I have my hat back?" Anoel asked softly instead.

The girl still held the black cowboy hat in her right hand, finally realizing she held onto it before passing it over to Anoel by sliding it across the small space between them.

She was reluctant to make any physical contact with anything outside her small bubble of comfort, or lack of comfort.

Why was she so scared? Ano wasn't being scary, was she?

"I'm not going to hurt you."

The girl looked completely defeated. She looked like she had no will to even fight Anoel. It was confusing, and it was starting to be concerning…

Did she _want_ to be caught?

Anoel kept her voice soft and low, trying to be gentle with it as she picked up her hat and brushed it off. Her fingers feathered the small traces of heat lingering from the place where the girl clung to it, the bright glow letting Ano know where the girl's body temperature probably rested right now.

It was high. Really high.

Fitting the hat into place on her own head, Anoel brought her gaze back to the girl against the wall. They were both low, one was sitting on the floor after all.

But Anoel didn't want to make it seem like she was looking down on her.

So she sat down too.

"Somebody hired you for your semblance. Is that it?" Ano asked.

"C-can I go…?" the girl asked quietly, turning her head down even further. "I won't come back…"

Those last few words stunned Anoel for a bit. They were actually honest.

But the girl still wasn't giving anything away.

"I can't let you," Anoel replied slowly, tilting her head to try to get a good look into the girl's blue eyes. "People get mad when thieves come back empty handed."

Her eyes actually started to water hearing those words.

She… she already knew...

The first tear streamed down the girl's dirty cheek as Anoel dropped her gaze. She hated watching it when girls cried.

But there was something else she hated more than that.

"Listen, I don't know who put you up to this. I don't even know your name." Anoel was starting to feel something heavy start to settle over her, knowing what she was doing would probably set the network back a bit.

This information was exclusive. Nobody else had it.

Which was why this girl probably came here.

But still, Anoel reached back and tugged the folded piece of paper off the corner of her desk. She held it in front of her for a moment, thinking through what she wanted to say.

She wanted to be careful as she said it.

"This is all you came for, right?" Ano asked.

More tears flowed down the girl's cheeks as she closed her eyes and nodded.

Damn. They were such bright eyes to keep shut away too…

Anoel slowly unfolded the piece of paper and pulled out her scroll, laying the information flat on the floor to take a picture of it. After checking that it came out clear, she put her scroll away and folded the parchment back up.

"Turning invisible is a pretty neat thing," Anoel commented, holding the small paper between her fingers for a few long seconds as she looked back to the girl.

She wanted her to open her eyes again.

"This is like the superhighway of information. This one bar. Everyone knows it, even the people downstairs," Ano continued, taking a small breath as she leaned slightly to the side, trying to keep in the girl's view when she _did_ open her eyes. "It'd be… pretty impressive to sneak in here and steal away the only piece of info we have on this particular crime. Especially without anyone catching you."

Anoel tossed the small paper into the girl's lap, resting her hands down into her own as she said that.

The girl's eyes widened in surprise as she looked at the paper, her gaze then snapping to Anoel, almost in disbelief.

She managed to muster enough willpower to stammer her only response, "W-why?"

That… was a good question. Anoel could shoulder the weight settling over her from giving precious information away. She could bear that.

What she couldn't bear was seeing a girl like this hurt and punished over something stupid.

"I don't really _need_ a reason. It's just that you're crying and you're cute, and those things don't really mix well," Anoel replied, offering the girl a tiny smile.

Please stop crying.

"C-cute?" she questioned. Her body loosened up a little as she appeared to come out of her regression.

Ano just smiled more at that. She was opening up a bit. "Of course. I'm allowed to think that, aren't I?"

The girl half-shrugged, moving with sluggish movements as she turned her head to the side a little. "I guess…"

"See? That was pretty cute. That little bashfulness right there," Ano pointed out happily. But it was a shame seeing her avert her eyes again.

They were really blue. Anoel's were gold right now.

"I'll let you go now. You probably shouldn't stall for too long if you're being monitored."

She nodded and Anoel managed to pull her to her feet, the girl holding the sheet of paper in her left hand before stuffing it in her pocket.

For a fleeting moment, she looked directly into Ano's eyes, "T-thank you for… _this._ "

"It's just a piece of information somebody wants. That's basically my job description, anyway," Anoel replied, keeping her gaze locked with that blue one for as long as possible.

It suddenly felt rare to see it so directly.

"If you don't have a name, can I give you one?"

Her eyebrows furrowed for a moment before she slowly inhaled, taking a small breath. "L-Lylac… my name is Lylac."

 _Lylac…_

Anoel's smile was practically beaming, tilting her head as she happily gazed into the cerulean irises in front of her.

"I'll call you Ly."

"I need to go now…" the girl said breathlessly, but the look in her eyes made it seem like something else was happening beneath that confused gaze.

Anoel held herself back from figuring out exactly what that was. "Then go."

It was almost disheartening letting her go like this, but Ano was fine with this small victory. She didn't see it as losing something. Not at all.

"I'm just happy to know your name now."

Lylac slowly moved her way to the door, occasionally glancing over her shoulder to regard Ano before she opened it slowly.

There was a moment of hesitation before she stepped outside.

She looked like she almost wanted to say something else, but held herself back from saying it.

The door closed silently as Anoel watched Ly disappear, her smile finally faltering before falling completely when Ly's presence was fully gone.

"Lylac…" Anoel muttered lightly to herself. There was a story somewhere that she read.

There had to be. It sounded familiar.

But anybody could've had that name, right?

A small breath left the info-broker's lips as she rested her cheek back into the palm of her hand, thinking about what she wanted to do.

She needed to do some research.

* * *

Co-Author: HydraFlow

* * *

 **Stolen Feather is one of the main pairings in Rogue Huntsman. We figured it'd be nice to see how it all started, so this is the story that addresses the origins of them directly.**

 **How Lylac and Anoel first met, how they got so close, and how Ano got Ly through and over one of the most traumatic periods of her life.**

 **And what happened past that point.**

 **You don't need any prior knowledge from Rogue Huntsman to read this.**

 **This'll be a bit of a slice of life kinda thing, and it'll probably become a compilation of shorts as well. It'll mainly just focus on their relationship.**

 **Here's a warning for** **yuri** **, obviously. They're both girls. That's the main theme here. You came here expecting that.**

 **You've been warned.**


	2. Backlash

A Feather Stolen

Backlash

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The scolding for her little stunt wasn't too bad.

Anoel was careful. He was suspicious, but she managed to tiptoe around that. Or, at least, she thinks she did.

It was hard slipping anything by him.

But still, it was just one piece of information. She still had it, too. Technically.

It was on her scroll.

So it still counted.

"Niro should really keep his mouth shut sometimes," Ano grumbled, kicking the floor a little as she shuffled up to her room.

The chorus of the downstairs bar quieted as she made her way down the hall, slipping by the occasional courier to weave her way toward her door.

Niro knew about it. He always knew.

Anoel made it to her door with a huff of air leaving her mouth, grasping its handle as her gaze turned back toward the distant stairs.

At least he didn't care enough to tell his dad.

She had that to bank on.

With a twist of the handle, Anoel pushed her way into her quarters. Letting the door shut behind her as she adjusted her hat.

Weird… her body was catching lingering signs of something warm in the room.

Her gaze traced over her bed before drifting to her desk, where she left her lamp on. But her two legs stopped working, freezing in place as she saw two slim hands fiddling around with one of her daggers in the chair there.

The bright cerulean eyes she remembered from last time glanced over after a moment, widening just a fraction before quickly putting the dagger down.

Anoel was glad she was at least gentle with it. While it lasted.

"Hey," Ano greeted.

Oh good, her legs were working again.

Anoel made her way over with a couple quiet steps, keeping a set of soft eyes on the girl invading her chair before stopping just in front of the desk.

It'd been three days since Ano gave her that folded piece of paper.

"Did you get in trouble?" Lylac seemed to be very blunt for someone her age.

However old she was…

She sat up straight in the chair as she looked at Ano expectantly.

A look Ano returned with a small smile and a hand on her hip, "Just a little bit. But I think he knows anyway. He's just not saying anything."

Must not have been very important.

"Oh. That's good…" she murmured. "I-I didn't want to get you in trouble."

Funny. That's exactly what Ano was doing too when she gave her that piece of paper.

"That's sweet of you. But I knew what I was doing when I did it," Anoel replied, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her desk. With a quick prop of her head against her palms, she gave the girl across from her a cheeky smile. "You didn't get in trouble either, did you?"

"N-no…" Ly replied, but her left hand slowly grasped at her forearm as she said that.

She was lying.

"I'm sorry about that, then. I didn't mean to keep you," Anoel muttered quietly in return. Her smile dropped. "Does it hurt?"

"A little…" her reluctant reply was met with cerulean eyes looking to the floor as her hand squeezed her forearm a little tighter. "I-it's fine though."

"No… it's not…" Anoel said, her gaze staying soft before pushing away from the desk.

She walked across her room to pass the corner of her bed, stepping into the small bathroom she had to flick on the light inside.

After a few seconds, she came back out with a medkit.

"Can I see it?"

It took a moment, but Ly eventually nodded.

She slowly peeled back the sleeve of her unwashed white coat, revealing a poorly stitched gash in her forearm.

It looked bad. And it definitely hurt more than just a little.

"Come here," Anoel spoke softly, holding out her hand for Lylac to take. She hesitated at first, but when she took it, Ano led her back to the bed. "Sit here and… try to get comfortable. I know that's going to be hard."

Lylac took a deep breath before sitting down and keeping her arm still. Her hands shook slightly and her gaze filled with a little worry as she looked toward Ano and bit her bottom lip.

That little bite and tiny glance brought a softer voice out of Anoel. But one that had to warn her, too.

"I need to remove the stitches, if you'll let me." The clasps of the medkit snapped open soon after, the casement rested down next to Ly's leg.

She nodded, giving her consent. But the worry in her only seemed to grow as her eyes flicked between Ano's hands and the wound on her arm.

This wasn't going to work. It was going to hurt too much.

"Here." Anoel softly gripped Ly's arm in the areas above and below her wound, squeezing with a faint amount of pressure before closing her eyes and focusing.

Heat simmered through her fingertips and against Lylac's skin, warming the two points around the gash.

Hopefully that distracted her a bit.

"Keep your hand on the same spot mine is. It'll make the heat last longer," Anoel said, glancing down to the hand she had closer to her elbow.

Ly's hand shakily did as she was told, and Ano started focusing on cutting and removing the stitches already in place.

It was bad, but it wasn't as bad as it first looked.

"It hasn't been cleaned properly. So… just brace yourself," Ano whispered, getting the last stitch out to let the wound reopen.

She took an antiseptic out of the kit and a white towel, placing the soft cloth beneath the wounded arm on the bed as she took a deep breath.

Ly was already softly whimpering. She was gritting her teeth in preparation for the sting of the alcohol in the liquid, and that was only stalling Anoel even more.

She didn't want to do it. The urgency was there, but Anoel stopped herself. Her fingers shook slightly in apprehension as she held the opened bottle over Ly's arm, eyes falling into a worried, thoughtful gaze.

There had to be another way. A way to distract her even more.

She couldn't numb the area first, so a distraction was all she could do.

But… how?

Unless… there was a way to numb it?

Anoel quickly recapped the bottle and grabbed the white towel, dropping them into the kit before taking a small breath.

"W-Why did you stop?" Ly asked worriedly, her eyes dashing to Ano in a small moment of panic. "Just do it."

"I can't. I don't like how much it'll hurt you. But I think I can numb it first," Ano responded. She draped the kit's handle over her arm as she gently rested her fingers beneath Ly's wounded one.

She kept that one up, making sure its movements were small and minimal at best. Her other hand reached out and asked for Ly's other hand.

"Cold water in the bathroom should work. And it'd help a bit with the cleaning."

"O-Okay…" Ly sighed, taking her hand and standing slowly, keeping her eyes focused on maintaining her outstretched arm.

Anoel kept her hands warmly in place, helping keep those arms out in front of the girl as she walked backward. She knew her room. She'd traveled from her bed to the bathroom more than enough times to have memorized the path.

So she kept her eyes on Ly's as the two girls made it through the doorway at Ano's back, the light still on from when she looked for the medkit.

With a little guidance, Anoel sat Ly down on the edge of the bathtub. Ano sat down next to her, finally letting her hand slip out of Ly's own to reach down and set the medkit on the floor.

She opened it again like last time, taking out the same supplies as the hand she used to keep Ly's wounded arm up stayed in place.

"Okay… Hopefully this'll numb it enough," Anoel spoke quietly. She turned on the bath's faucet to let out a soft stream of cold water, waiting a few moments to let its temperature drop.

When it did, she took Ly's hand again as gently as she could.

"It'll still sting, but it'll feel numb just as quickly. I'll pour on the alcohol from there."

Ano waited again. Just waiting for that vocal consent from Lylac.

She didn't want to do it without it.

"That's… fine…" her voice sounded less nervous. A lot less. And she looked like she was feeling safer now too.

The bathroom was a good choice then. She knew the pain she'd feel wouldn't be as sharp and intense in here.

That's all Ano wanted.

The info-broker gave a tiny nod as she dropped a focused gaze to Ly's arm. With the smallest of ushers, she lowered it just enough to get it next to the stream of water.

Cautious eyes glanced back to Ly's for a second for one final confirmation, and she got it when Ly gave her a single nod.

 _Please don't make it hurt…_

Anoel dipped Ly's wound into the cold stream and prepared to wince in case Ly let out any kind of noise from the pain. Aside from goosebumps rapidly forming on Ly's arm, though, nothing slipped out of her mouth.

She guessed that was a good thing.

Ano got the antiseptic back into her hand as she ushered the girl's slim arm back out of the stream of water, preparing herself by holding her breath and tipping the bottle.

Small trickles of watery blood sunk into the drain as the alcoholic liquid joined it, coating the open wound only as much as Anoel thought was needed before she quickly stopped.

With a hesitant glance, she peered up at Ly's face. She was still grimacing and gritting her teeth, but it wasn't as bad as it could've been.

Ano was happy about that.

"Just a little longer. I'll dry it then stitch it back up."

Ly turned to her and responded with a non-verbal nod, still gritting her teeth as she put on a brave face.

It was… kind of cute the way she was trying so hard.

Anoel turned off the faucet and took the towel up into her grasp, setting the alcohol down. With a few careful dabs and swipes, she cleaned the wound out just enough to dry it.

Stitching it closed again only took a few minutes. Anoel's done it enough times to know what she was doing.

She… needed to know how to do it. She learned how. Just to save somebody else she cared about.

"I can cover it too, if you'd like. That way it won't be brushing against your clothing."

"If you want… I don't want to use up your stuff…" she replied, eyes still fixed on her arm as she spoke.

"I can get more," Ano replied softly.

Ly didn't have a lot, did she…

Anoel withdrew a white pad just large enough for the wound. It'd work nicely for bandaging it up. And, Ano wanted it to be discreet too.

She didn't want it to be noticed.

Peeling away the bandage covering, Anoel sealed the pad into place and made sure it wouldn't jostle around. Thankfully, it was pretty tightly on there with the adhesive it used.

Now, for the hard part.

"Ly…" Ano spoke quietly. Her gaze was low. She wanted to keep it low. But she forced herself to trace it up Ly's arm to search out Ly's own gaze as she asked her. "Where else… are you hurt…?"

Lylac's eyes locked with Anoel's, quickly alternating between the two dark blue irises staring into cerulean before her gaze inadvertently fell to the floor.

She quickly shook her head as her gaze drifted away. "No, y-you've already done enough…"

"No… I haven't," Anoel breathed out quietly, keeping the towel in her hand. "You're hurt. You're not wasting any of my resources. I hardly use them anyway. So please, one wound _isn't_ enough if you have others just like it somewhere else."

Ly withdrew her arm hastily. "I-I need to go."

Her words were spoken as she attempted to stand, still averting her gaze.

She would've gone, too. But Anoel's small hand caught Ly's before it could get too far away, holding it with a grip just tight enough to stop her.

But… it was light enough to escape, if she still wanted to.

"I don't want to keep you like I did last time, so you can go. But, why were you here to begin with?" Anoel asked, voice almost mute.

Ly stopped. Even though she could've left right then and there. She stopped.

But she didn't glance back.

One of her hands dipped into her pocket, the same pocket Anoel remembered she used to store the folded piece of paper the last time she saw her.

And that's what she pulled out. The same bit of paper she walked away with last time.

"To give this back…"

Her voice was louder than a whisper, but could barely be considered a murmur. She finally turned around too, and Ano met the glance with a soft gaze of her own.

Ly's hand reached out as she held the paper toward Ano, blue eyes meeting hers again.

"If I take that," Ano spoke softly in return, running her gaze down Ly's dirty sleeve to the worn paper, "will you come back?"

Ly hesitated, shrugged, then nodded.

She didn't know...

Anoel swallowed dryly as she took the note from Ly's shaking fingers, glancing up to meet Ly's eyes again before she turned away.

And then she left.

Ano sat there staring at the bathroom door for a few long minutes, afraid that peering into the main room would just confirm that Ly was already gone.

She knew she was… she could feel it.

Delicate fingers played with the folded parchment in her grasp, turning it as she slowly lowered her gaze to it.

She came back to return this. The same reason brought her here.

She needed a reason to _be_ here. Anoel didn't know how to make more of them to get her to come back.

Her fingers turned the paper again, but stopped. The faint traces of writing just inside one of the folds caught her eyes, something she almost missed.

Ano carefully unfolded it, opening the paper up fully to see how much was written.

It was just two words.

' _help me'_

Two months went by, and Ly still didn't come back.


	3. Finding Idols

A Feather Stolen

Finding Idols

«»

"Come on Onyx, let me win at least _one_ round!" Anoel whined, fingers twisting at and fiddling with a black dart.

"What? And forfeit my winning streak?" the patron asked incredulously. "Not a chance, girly."

Ano's lips pouted, but he could tell she was fighting back a smile. "Whatever oldy. I'll beat you next time. That's a promise!"

"Yeah, sure. When you beat me, you'll probably hold alcohol down better than I can," he returned, watching her take a couple more throws at the dartboard to rid herself of the objects. "Won't be for a long while though, kid."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Bite me." Anoel gave a little laugh and jumped up, locking her pinky with the patron's own before giving him a challenging smirk.

He accepted the challenge.

"Go get yourself some water. Or milk. Or… whatever you drink," he finalized, letting her go after having her dangle on his hand for a few seconds.

"I can have _soda_ , you know. It's close enough," Ano replied, something he smiled to. "And wipe that grin off your face! I'll be drinking alcohol before you know it!"

"Sure kid."

The little info-broker trudged off and left the group of guys she was hanging out with. But she couldn't help but turn around and call out to him when another challenger stepped up to his plate.

"Don't you dare lose to anyone before I beat you! Got it?!"

"Like hell I'll let that happen!"

Yeah, he's fired up. Ano's job is done there.

She happily crossed the room through a couple more groups of patrons, slipping between tables to get back to the bar. A couple hands pat her head along the way, but she knew whose they were.

She knew everyone in the bar, after all. It was her job to.

Anoel climbed into the stool at the corner once she got there, wiggling herself into place before resting her chin on the bar's countertop.

Niro was working the bar behind his dad, despite being eleven years old.

This was his job too.

His dad on the other hand silently made his way over to Ano, still cleaning a glass with a white cloth as he glanced to her.

An expectant gleam in his eyes.

After a moment, Anoel lifted her chin and let out a puff of air, squishing her cheek against her palm as she stuck her elbow to the bar top.

"Three murders. I'll write down the locations and suspects later. Our friendly neighborhood drug cartel down in the lower district's about to go under, so they're planning a major heist. They're gonna hit the city bank on Monday."

Anoel peeked up at him as she played with a straw, a chilled glass of a mixture of soda sliding in front of her. It was amber colored, clinking with fresh ice. Her favorite, actually.

She wasn't done though.

"Indigo's having a secret wedding affair, Alice found out so she's hired an assassin to speak his peace. Sex trafficking's at an all-time high due to a person of interest getting involved. And two separate weapons shipments are coming in tonight at docks 11A and 9B, an hour apart. One from Atlas, the other Mistral. In that order."

She dipped the tip of her straw into her drink and gave the mixture a little swirl, letting out a long sigh now that she was done.

When his gaze turned away for just a moment, she lowered her chin and turned a disappointed gaze down to the polished wood of the counter.

Muttering under her breath.

"And… no mention of Ly…"

Anoel's gaze turned back up at the distant sound of sirens. They weren't uncommon in Vale, but they _were_ uncommon in vicinity to this bar.

Most avoided it. Probably because a lot of the enforcement officers were on its payroll.

The sirens blaring in the distance outside were slowly filtering in through the bar's walls now, growing steadily louder than the ambient noise coming from the patrons and music.

The crack of pool balls on one of the felt tables behind her matched the pitched screech of tires just outside.

It wasn't long before two police cruisers came to a full stop just outside the bar and began poking around the alleyways. Men pointing their flashlights around slowly rounded the building, looking at the rooftops and fire escape routes down the side.

They were chasing someone.

The slightest distortion of light underneath a pair of new patrons entering through the door caught Ano's attention in her peripheral vision as her eyes snapped toward it, but missed it before she could focus on it.

That little distortion…

Ano switched to heat vision immediately, watching as a slim blur crossed the room and made its way to the furthest wall from the door.

Hiding itself away under one of the empty booth tables in the corner.

 _Ly…?_

Anoel slid herself from her stool and left her drink where it was. Most eyes were still focused on the police patrolling outside, so she slipped her way through and around the patrons sitting at their own tables.

Her eyes stayed locked on the heat signature, gaze scared to look away from it in case it disappeared again.

When she finally reached the table, she felt that familiar sense of heat she remembered feeling that day two months ago.

"Ly?" Anoel spoke with a soft crack in her voice, lowering herself down.

The girl's body flickered upon hearing the voice, giving Ano a small glimpse of her heavily breathing form before her cloak reformed around her.

She brought her finger up to her mouth and quietly shushed Ano. "D-don't tell them I'm here… _please._ "

Ano's small heart lurched in her chest as she heard Ly's voice. It was her. Her eyes glanced away for just a second, following the gazes of everyone else to the police standing just outside the bar's door.

They were just stationing themselves outside.

Anoel's small form crouched down and crawled under the table, silently positioning herself in front of Ly's invisible form to give her a confused look.

"Why would I tell them?"

Ly demonstrated a surprising amount of skill with her semblance as she reached inside her coat and pulled out an item sealed within a glass container. The girl made it visible to Ano after holding it up as her cloak retracted from it and revealed a priceless wooden statuette inside.

"Kerillian wood… How did you…?" Anoel tilted her head as her eyes glanced back up to Ly's invisible face.

Niro's dad had been after the artifact for the past week, but it was hidden behind an uncomfortably high amount of defense and security.

Ly managed to steal it.

"I-I snuck in and took it…" Ly murmured worriedly as she placed it back inside her coat. "I-I didn't know it would be _this_ important…"

She made it sound easy.

"That's-" Anoel's breath hitched for a moment in disbelief as she stared at Ly's heat signature, bewilderment glistening in her eyes. "That's actually startlingly impressive."

"What do I do…?" Ly asked, desperation seeping into her tone as her semblance began flickering again. "I-if I run, they're just gonna chase me again… and I can't s-stay here forever…"

The girl took a deep breath as she sat herself on the ground fully, bringing her legs into her chest and wrapping her slender arms around them as she buried her head into her knees. Her invisible cloak finally dropped as cerulean eyes peeked over her knees, gaze staring at the door.

Anoel honestly wished Ly _could_ stay here forever…

But maybe she can at least help her with what's going on right now.

"You're safe in here. This is the one place police refuse to enter without permission from the owner," Anoel spoke quietly.

Her hands fell to the floor to shuffle herself closer to Ly, moving just in front of her with a determined gaze resting in her eyes. If not a little shy, too.

"But I need to ask you to do something first. To make them go away."

"W-What?" Ly replied bluntly, lifting her head slightly as her legs relaxed a little.

Anoel took a breath before holding it, meeting Ly's gaze with another tilt of the head as she leaned forward. "First, I want a hug. I missed you."

A red flush appeared on her cheeks as Ly froze. "Y-Y-ou want me to h-hug you? Because… you m-missed me?"

Ano just nodded with a small smile. "That's exactly what I want."

Ly's eyebrows furrowed. "You missed me… _why?_ I don't get it..."

Anoel just cocked her head the other way, an innocence in her eyes. But she held a sad longing in them alongside it. "You've been gone for two months… I haven't stopped looking for you."

Lylac blinked once in confusion, her gaze falling to the floorboards for a moment before she took a slow breath. "I… have…? I-I didn't think it was that long, I…"

Her voice was filled with uncertainty and disorientation as she trailed off. Her bright cobalt stare boring into the grain of the wooden floorboards.

Ano's gaze softened in wake of those words as she leaned forward even further, resting her small hands on Ly's bent legs. "I want to help you. So _please_ , will you let me?"

Ly's eyes trailed up Ano's arm and met hers, hesitating for a moment before slowly and reluctantly nodding.

Anoel's own head dipped in a tiny nod in return to that, her smile coming back to her. " _Now_ can I hug you? I know how to make them go away."

The blonde thief nodded again, lowering her legs and shuffling forward in an invitational gesture.

Ano's smile widened at that. The small info-broker lurched forward and threw her arms around Ly's sides, her light frame falling against Ly's own as she buried her face into her neck.

She really missed her.

Ly slowly reciprocated the action and brought her arms around her upper back, her blush deepening but she ignored it in favor of somewhat enjoying the moment of embrace.

Anoel's grip only grew firmer as she sunk her face further into Ly's warm shoulder, not wanting to let go. Even as her heart throbbed painfully in her chest.

She was hoping Ly would go along with her plan after this, but she knew she wouldn't like it. So she was taking what she could get while it lasted.

After a minute went by, Ano had to force herself to slowly start to let go of that warmth. Her arms began to grow loose as she took in a small breath through her nose.

But Ly's grip didn't loosen at all. Ano felt the girl's eyes close, her hold actually tightening to keep Anoel against her.

S-She… didn't want to let go either?

Anoel eventually cracked her eyes open after another minute passed, gently lifting her head from Ly's neck. The girl was still dirty, a musky scent flooding her nose from Ly's sweaty skin. But she didn't care.

She just wanted to hug her before she went away again.

"If you're away for any longer next time, I'll just have to kiss you when I see you again. To make up for lost time," Ano murmured quietly, retightening her hold.

Ano felt the burning sensation in Ly's cheeks become hotter as it spread to her face, hearing her breath hitch slightly as it did.

She was easily embarrassed. It only made her want to do it more.

Because it was so cute.

"Niro's dad has been looking for that. He'll buy it off you. And he has influence over the cops outside, so he can tell them off. You don't have to leave yet," Anoel whispered softly, her nose brushing against Ly's small collarbone near her shoulder.

Ano felt Ly shake her head, the grip around her starting to loosen as the girl silently opened her eyes.

"O-Okay…" her gentle response was spoken breathlessly as she finally let Ano go, blue eyes focused solely on hers.

Anoel didn't pull away immediately. Even though the musky scent was unpleasant, she wanted to take it in for just a few more seconds before she left it. She wanted just one more thing to help her remember more of the girl in her arms.

When she finally leaned back, Ano sat against her heels and met the gaze looking at her with reassurance.

She couldn't help but just stare for a few seconds. Ly's cheeks were still pink.

Pink looked good on her.

"Let's go then," Anoel eventually said. "He won't mind."

Ly shuffled forward slightly before righting herself and following Ano as they both crawled out from under the table in the booth. Both girls slowly standing as Ly pulled out the statuette from her coat.

The two made their way back to the bar mostly unseen. The attention on the cops waiting just outside the door had dwindled by now, so a couple curious eyes turned their way.

But none in suspicion.

Anoel could feel Ly's eyes trailing to the floor, her hand holding the idol close to her chest as they walked. She was hiding away from those gazes.

"You don't have to worry about them," Ano said. A reassuring gaze peered over her shoulder as she looked back at Ly. "They won't say anything."

Ly quietly hummed a reply but refused to return any of their looks. It was obvious she didn't like drawing attention to herself, despite the big white coat and luminescent blue eyes.

But, she was still a thief. Thieves hated the spotlight. Too bad she was with Ano… the info-broker sucked at not drawing any toward her.

Ano's eyes glanced back to the bar to see Niro's dad looking toward her, his eyes flicking to Ly for a moment before his gaze turned to the front door.

The cops were still waiting outside.

He met them at the end of the bar when Anoel helped Ly into a stool, the girl climbing into one herself to reach for her drink.

"She has something you've been looking for," Anoel explained. One of her hands drifted to the side as she leaned over, pulling her soda she left here from earlier and sliding it in front of Ly.

If she wanted any.

"I get the feeling I'm not the only one looking for it," he replied, drifting his gaze to the uniforms outside again before bringing it back to Ly.

The girl just slowly placed the glass box on the table, wooden figure untouched just inside.

Then she dropped her hands into her lap like she'd get in trouble for just touching it. She looked like she felt really guilty about taking it.

"How'd you get it?"

Anoel slipped her hand back into Ly's on her lap, but she kept her gaze on the man in front of them. "She can turn invisible. She just walked in and took it. She couldn't get out without detection, unfortunately."

He quirked a brow at that, keeping his gaze on Ly's downturned face. "Not a lot of people can do that. Very few, actually."

"Mhmm. But she won't do anything until those cops go away," Anoel spoke firmly.

He didn't seem too surprised to hear that. "Does she know how rare that statuette is?"

Ly finally looked up at him and shook her head before her eyes fell to the wooden idol in front of her in curiosity.

"It was made in Kerillor. Their wood had special properties," he spoke evenly, keeping careful watch over her reactions. "People would kill for even a small quantity of the material."

"R-Really?" Ly questioned, her eyes widening slightly before her shoulders shrank down. She looked like she didn't like the sound of that.

He didn't answer her. Not immediately.

Ano watched him turn around and face the cops in the window, their gazes meeting his through the glass. He gave a small shake of his head, something that looked dismissive somehow.

The officers didn't hesitate to step away from the bar and go back to their vehicles.

And then they left.

Ly's eyes widened in bewilderment at the sound of the car engines dissipating away, her gaze drifting to the windows for a few long moments before turning back to the man in front of them.

He took up another glass to start drying as he brought his attention back to the two girls sitting side by side.

"Thirsty?" he asked indifferently, bringing his eyes back to Ly's own.

"I-I don't have any money…" she replied honestly, interlocking her fingers in her lap.

"I can pay fo-" Ano's mouth snapped shut when his gaze drifted to her, his hand waving her off. She just mumbled to herself in response to it.

"Compliments of the house. A hot meal, a cold drink. And then we talk business. The menu's up there, and Anoel's there to help you if you need it."

After he spoke his mind, he turned away to go back to tending to patrons while Ly was left to try to make a decision.

Ano was there to make it easier.


	4. Wait for Me

A Feather Stolen

Wait for Me

«»

She was hesitant to do anything at first, likely reeling back in disbelief before her blue eyes glanced to the long list of meals and drinks she had at her fingertips.

And for a moment, Anoel wasn't sure if Lylac was going to order anything at _all_.

"It's alright to get whatever you want. I don't think he minds whatever you choose, just so long as you like it," Anoel tried to offer. She was hoping Ly wasn't trying to get out of this somehow.

"That's not it…" she whispered in reply, still staring at the menu. "I don't… know what I want…"

This was a bar, so there weren't many options to begin with. But Ano couldn't help but frown a little at that.

"Okay. How hungry are you?" Anoel asked lightly.

Ly's hands naturally placed themselves on her stomach, her eyes following them before turning her gaze to Ano. "I… don't remember the last thing I ate…"

A sharp pang slipped through Ano's chest as she looked at the hungry, confused face Ly was giving her.

It hurt looking at it and hearing what she said.

"We can get you just about anything then," Anoel voice softly, turning her gaze back to the menu in a pensive stare. She didn't want to overwhelm Ly, but she didn't want to get her something small either.

She needed something in the middle.

"Do you just want fries and a burger? And something to drink?"

The young thief nodded, going along with the suggestion without a second thought.

"You can have anything you want to drink with it. E-Except alcohol. I don't think that'd sit well… or end well." Or that it was a good idea in general, really.

"I don't think I'd like that…" Ly replied timidly, shaking her head. "I'm happy with bottled water most of the time."

Ano slowly nodded to that before glancing to Niro's dad, watching as he filled a patron's glass before turning away and went to work preparing a few things behind the bar. She never really paid much attention to the ingredients he gathered.

Looked like he heard the order, though.

"He'll have it prepared in about ten minutes, I think," Ano said, swiveling in her stool to face Ly again.

She took a few seconds to try to see how Ly was taking all this, but overall, it still looked like she was in disbelief.

"Don't let him scare you. When he says business, it's probably just going to be a pretty simple talk then a deal."

Ly's lips parted to let out a shaky breath as her eyes trailed to the idol sat in its glass box. "I just want the lien… I… _need_ the lien."

"I know you do…" Anoel spoke out in a soft breath, holding herself back from just giving her some of her savings back in her room. "He'll probably offer you a lot. I want him to. And he's throwing in the food too. I just… hope it'll help."

Ano rested her hands in her lap as she leaned forward, peering at Ly out of the corner of her vision.

"How long can you stay?"

"Maybe the night… if I'm lucky…" That last part left her mouth in a mumble, Ano just barely able to hear it.

"What do you mean by if you're lucky?" Ano asked slowly, bringing her gaze back to Ly.

The girl rolled up her sleeve, maintaining eye contact with the wooden, winged figure on the bar, if only to avoid making eye contact with the young info-broker. Ano could see a whole bunch of angry, red marks and fresh cuts all across her forearm.

Anoel's gaze only lowered again after seeing it.

She carefully reached over and rolled the sleeve back down, resting her hand back into Ly's own to squeeze it. "You're staying here tonight. With me."

It was worse than last time.

"Some of them were accidents, but… the others..." Ly trailed off when she tried to explain.

Ano already knew where it was going.

Ly sighed before her blue eyes fixated on the idol again. "I don't want to overstay my welcome."

Ano's eyes only closed tightly as she squeezed Ly's hand harder. "I don't care what they are. You're hurt, Ly. _Let me_ take care of you… those cuts are pretty bad."

"It's… not that simple…"

A sigh broke out of her as her head turned to the side.

"I-" she paused, looking unsure of whether to continue. "I-I'm not the only one… who gets punished…"

Watery blue eyes turned back to Ano, dread settling into the broker's pained heart as Ly swallowed heavily, fighting back the urge to cry.

"I'm just the punching bag…"

Anoel's eyes grew pained, seeing the tear jerking sight of Ly's blue eyes glistening over, her own blinking hard as she took a small, shaky breath.

She wanted so bad just to promise that she'd be okay. To _promise her_ that she'd be fine.

But Ano felt short of breath as she felt her heart ache. She knew better than to think that.

"Then _keep_ coming back here. If other people are getting hurt, I can show you how to take care of them too."

Ly wiped her eyes against her coat's sleeve, drying them as she sighed again. "This place is the only option I had left… I… I'm trying to figure it out… how to get out of this."

Anoel's hand opened up in the grip she held Ly's with, squeezing her eyes shut again as she interlaced their fingers. It felt reassuring, but she didn't know who she was trying to reassure anymore.

"Figure… _what_ out?" Ano asked. She'd been trying to avoid that question. She'd evaded it every time her curiosity tried to pull her toward it.

But she couldn't help her until she _knew_. She had to know.

She could feel Ly's eyes drift away again, Ano trying to follow it with a hazy gaze.

"How to save us from being controlled…"

 _Controlled…_

Anoel desperately wanted to just keep Ly here, but she knew there were others involved. She didn't know how many.

But there were enough.

"C-Can't you just… stay here?" Ano asked quietly, turning her gaze away. She looked back down into her lap, her other hand grabbing a fist-full of her shirt.

It almost sounded selfish… the way she said it.

It probably was.

"I _want_ to…" Ly replied, immediately glancing to Ano, "but not without _him…_ he's too young to deal with this by himself…"

"T-Then what can I _do_?" Ano asked pleadingly, willing her eyes to look up again and lock with Ly's. "You asked me to help you, but I don't know how to _do_ it. D-Do you need lien? Clean slates? Transport? I-I can come back with you if yo-"

"Time…" Ly interrupted Ano abruptly, forcefully. But the girl still held her gentle gaze. "I need time… I-I'm going to disappear again… but I just need you to wait a little longer… _please_."

Anoel held her lips together as she took a shaky breath, blinking heavily again once her vision got too hot and blurry to see.

W-Why was this always a waiting game…?

Ano finally reached her hand up to start wiping at her eyes and cheeks, getting the water out of them as she silently nodded.

She hated these games.

"We can help you figure it out… if you still need."

Ly shook her head slightly, turning to the idol again. "It's my cousin… he says he has a plan... It's the reason I keep stealing things… we need the lien to make it work."

"Then we can at least help you with that part." Anoel's breath was coming back to its even state, the shortness of it finally going away. But the pounding in her chest didn't. "Your idol, it's worth a lot. I'll make sure we pay a lot for it."

"Thank you…" Ly whispered. "He says he's nearly finished, but needs expensive things that I don't understand…" Ly's voice finally calmed down to its usual quiet tone too. "When we're free… I'll find you…"

Ano brushed her slim thumb over the back of Ly's hand, turning it over to softly graze her knuckles as she met the girl's gaze again. "It sounds like he's building something."

And once they _were_ free, Anoel would still be right here.

If Ly couldn't find her… Ano would be the one to go searching instead.

"It's big… I know it is… but I don't know how long it'll take to finish," she replied with a small nod, then a shrug. "I don't know if it'll work either… but I need to have faith."

"I'll have faith too then. It'll work," Anoel reassured, squeezing Ly's hand again. For whatever it was worth. "But you can still stay the night, right? You won't get punished for staying away too long again?"

"I don't care if I do."

Anoel's gaze softened as her voice quieted. "I do…"

"I didn't run here worrying if it would get me hurt, I just wanted to get away," Ly murmured, closing her eyes as her empty hand clenched slightly. "If my cousin's plan works it won't matter anyway."

"Then I won't let you leave here until I know I've done all I can do to help you," Anoel replied firmly. "Starting with feeding you."

Ano's eyes turned to see Ly's burger just finish getting plated, fries following closely behind it before Niro's dad brought the food over.

He set it down carefully in front of Ly with a cold glass of ice water to go with it, straw resting down beside it if she wanted one.

Mainly because Ano always did.

"I'll wait until you're done eating before we talk," he said evenly again.

He was always so straight forward with his words. Ano wondered if he just didn't want to waste the breath speaking more than he had to.

Ly's eyes scanned over her food and drink, looking like she was struggling to make up her mind on what she wanted first.

The girl soon picked up a fry though and began nibbling on it until it was gone, soon her hunger driving her to nibble another, and then another. Taking the same care with the rest of her food. Occasionally sipping her drink through the offered straw.

"You eat in small bites," Anoel commented distractedly, both of her hands back to herself now as she watched her.

Ly finished eating another fry before nodding and picking up another. "I need to take my time. It's so I don't make myself sick…"

Ano pursed her small lips as she nodded. Ly could take as much time as she needed to finish. "I think it's cute."

The info-broker wanted to get Ly's mind off of everything that was happening. So, she figured this was a nice distraction.

Ly paused right before she took another bite, eyes quickly shying away as her cheeks reddened a little.

Too cute.

"When you and your cousin get out, I'm getting us some ice cream. I think you'll like it," Anoel said calmly, keeping her eyes on Ly's averted face as she ate.

She wanted to see how she'd eat the ice cream.

Maybe in little licks.

That'd be cute too.

"I haven't had ice cream in a long time…" she timidly replied, soon returning her gaze back to Ano's. "I'd like that."

Anoel smiled softly when Ly looked her way, a gold shimmer coursing through her eyes. "I would too."

Despite taking her time, Ly finished her food rather quickly, not before shyly asking for another glass of water though.

When she got it, Niro's dad took her plate away for his son to clean.

Like the good little boy he was.

Then made his way back.

"Niro, watch the bar. I'm meeting with a client," he stated behind him, loud enough for the boy to hear before he stepped out from behind the counter and headed off toward a private booth in the corner.

It was separated from the rest of the booths around it, and it was the same one Ly hid under when she first ran in here.

It was always empty because it was reserved for meetings like this.

Anoel couldn't help but smile to herself though as she dropped to the floor and helped Ly down too. He was treating her like a grownup.

He was already sitting down when Ano and Ly made their way over, Anoel letting Ly in first to take the inside of the booth while Ano took the outside.

She prefered the outside. It stuck her between everyone else and the person at her side.

Made it easier getting in the way.

When they were settled down, his gaze fell to Lylac expectantly. She brought the glass encasement out under his attention, gently resting it on the table in front of her before letting it go.

"650,000."

She hadn't even retracted her hand before he named his price, her eyes going wide in shock as she processed what he said.

Anoel put herself out there too, to try to raise the price. "750,000."

She could feel Ly's gaze snap to her as she stared across the way to Niro's father, the man's eyes turning to her's slowly as her words lingered in the air.

Ano simply adopted a competitive gleam in her eyes.

Deal with it, old man.

 _Fight me._

"800,000."

"850," Ano retaliated. She had the lien. She could afford that, and he knew it.

But that was all she had… So she really had to sell it that she'd go higher, narrowing her gaze in the hardest way she could.

He was cracking. She knew he had to be.

"You can have it then."

Ano's mouth fell open as her entire being shattered. "W-What?"

"You're willing to pay for it, aren't you?" he asked evenly, unfazed by any of this.

Of course he wasn't!

D-Did he know?

"Y-Yeah. Yeah! I am. If it's for her, I am."

She was the one who broke.

"Good," he spoke slowly, calmly. As if his totally legally adopted daughter wasn't internally depressed. He turned his eyes back to Ly in her little corner, the girl's face stuck between confused, bewildered, and in disbelief.

She looked more lost than she'd ever looked so far.

"900,000. I'll pay you upfront, in full. So long as I don't have anymore _competition_."

His gaze turned back to Ano and she immediately shrunk into her seat, giving a tiny little nod.

"Do we have a deal?"

Ly, in her own little lost state, could only nod in acceptance.

She just looked happy she was getting _any_ amount of money for it.

He got up as soon as she nodded, gesturing for the two to stay put as he made his way to the door behind the bar. He disappeared for a few minutes, Ano and Ly just sitting there in comfortable silence before he made his way back.

Nine wrapped and neatly stacked lien cards were placed on the table and slid Ly's way, each one displaying their worth partially hidden beneath the wrappings.

100,000 each.

He then dropped an empty pouch onto the table alongside them.

"There's the lien and somewhere to put it."

His eyes fell to hers again as he waited.

Ly nodded her thanks and slid over the idol in return for the money, looking content to get rid of it.

He carefully swiped it from the table and turned it in his grasp, giving her a small nod in return. "There are more of these out there. If you find any, feel free to take them back here. You'll be compensated in full for each one."

Ly stared at the idol for a couple of seconds before turning a serious gaze to meet his. "How many?"

He kept turning the idol between his fingers as he brought his gaze back down to it. "Currently, only seven were known to have been shipped out from Kerillor before it fell. It's rumored there were eight, but nothing conclusive has been found to prove that."

"I'll try to spot any… and bring them to you."

"I'll keep you paid then, for each one you bring me," he replied.

He was… giving her a job. If she wanted it.

Once he was done, he made his way to the back again and disappeared. Coming back out a few minutes later without the idol to pick up where he left off behind the bar.

"It's a job for you. Once you get free," Anoel clarified, resting her arms on the table now as she looked to Ly beside her.

Ly looked down to the lien on the table, still untouched after Niro's dad placed it down in front of her.

There was something happening in her eyes that Ano hadn't seen yet.

They had a little more shine to them now as they gazed at the nine cards in front of her, but… they changed too.

They were pinker.


	5. I'm Your First

A Feather Stolen

I'm Your First

«»

Anoel was determined.

She wanted to hold her promise no matter what. And that promise was making sure she did everything in her power to help Ly before she had to leave tomorrow.

She fed her. She got her a bunch of money.

Now she had her mind set on cleaning her up. Especially the wounds.

 _All_ of them.

"Come on. If you're staying the night, you need to get cleaned up. Wounds too," Anoel spoke firmly, leading Ly upstairs by the hand.

"Most of them are fine, really…" Ly muttered, protesting against the idea as she followed Ano willingly.

"No, they're not. And this is something I want to do for you. You'll need at least a little strength in your body, and it'll get pretty bad if any of those wounds get infected. So, I'm doing this," Anoel pushed her way into her room and zeroed her gaze toward her bathroom door.

"It's not like they're open… they're healing fine," the girl protested further, a little more adamantly this time around.

"But there's still a lot of them, right?" Ano asked, but she slowed down for a moment as she dipped her chin, keeping her face away from Ly's own. "Plus… I wanna sleep next to you tonight. I want you to be able to spend a night smelling nice in a soft bed… with something warm."

Ly breathed out slowly and heavily as her eyes alternated their focus between Ano and the floor, nodding a little.

She looked hesitant to receive help, even after asking for it, and from what Ano could tell, she had a lot to hide too. Especially her injuries.

Anoel didn't want to dig for what was hidden. Not the same way she usually did with people.

Ly was actually different. She was the first girl Ano found close to her age. And even more unique, she looked like she was thrown as far into the deep end as she was.

Probably even further than her… and all Ano's wanted to do since then is help her swim.

She was the first thief Ano met who genuinely looked sorry for doing their job too.

She was a good girl in a bad place with no choices that were her own.

Ano hoped to change that.

"Just… as long as you're really okay with it," the info-broker spoke softly, peering her gaze back at Ly as they entered the dim bathroom.

"It'll be nice…" Ly paused for a moment, distractedly grasping at the sleeves of the coat too big for her, "to sleep in a _real_ bed again…"

Her blue eyes had turned to the bed when she spoke, a distant longing look in them as she stared. Wilfully ignorant of the consequences she may face for being away too long.

She really wanted this. It wasn't something forced, it was… something she wanted.

Ano just still felt a little bad convincing her.

"It'll be nice. I can throw your clothes through the wash tonight too, if you want," Anoel added, turning on the lights before looking back to see her response.

The girl nodded before her delicate eyebrows furrowed. "But what will I wear until they're dry?"

Ano took a moment to think about that, looking back into the room before meeting her gaze again. "I can give you my jammies to wear tonight. It'll be more comfortable than sleeping in your clothes."

"O-Okay…" Ly replied softly, nodding her head again.

Good. That was settled.

"While you were gone, I figured out a way to numb sensitive cuts and bruises with my heat. So you don't have to worry about me throwing you into a cold shower," Anoel made sure to clarify, finally letting go of Lylac's hand as she ventured further into the bathroom.

She started grabbing a few things, snagging two soft towels and a loofa. Her favorite body wash and shampoo were already in the shower, so she moved everything needed into it now as well to set it all up.

"No anes…" Ly paused again, confusion riddled across her face as it scrunched up slightly. "Anes…"

She was struggling to pronounce the word.

"Anes… the… tic...?" she finally managed to say, a small flush dusting her cheeks from the attention she suddenly garnered from Anoel.

It was a hard word. But Ano was an info-broker. She needed to be good with speech.

Still…

"That was super cute!" Anoel squealed, zipping back to Ly's side to latch onto her and give her a tight hug. "Can you do it again?"

The girl shook her head quickly as her face reddening in response to the embrace, "N-No..."

"Awweee!" Ano drawled out, narrowing her eyes and puffing out her lips. Not fair. "Well, you're cute either way."

She let her arms slip from around Lylac's sides to saunter out of the room for a moment. The info-broker quickly shedded her brown half-jacket and got her boots off, putting them by her desk with her socks getting thrown into her hamper.

Her big hat was soon rested down onto the desk itself.

She didn't want them to get wet. The black jeans and her white shirt she didn't care about.

The girl quickly made her way back into the bathroom to climb onto the rim of the tub, reaching up to pull the detachable shower head off.

When she looked back, Ly had copied her in taking off her shoes and socks, awkwardly standing barefoot in the bathroom door frame now without her coat on. It left her holding her right arm with her left hand awkwardly in just her torn blue jeans and dirty white shirt.

Waiting there for some kind of instruction.

Right…

Anoel left the shower head to dangle on its cord as she hopped back down, giving Ly a little once over with her eyes before crossing her arms.

"Do you need help?" Ano asked lightly. Or was she just being shy?

The girl shuffled her feet and kicked the floor slightly as she averted her eyes from Ano. "Y-You're in here…"

Oh…

Ano didn't think of that.

"Well, I'm sort of your… anes…" She was good with words! She really was! It's just, this one was hard. "Anesth… I'm your anes… thetic. The shower's going to sting a lot if you take it on your own, and I don't really have any kind of numbing stuff I can just give you. I don't actually think we have any…"

They've never needed them.

"I-I can wash myself and then you could… give medical care…" Ly meekly suggested, face reddening again.

Ano's mouth fell open at how out of order that was as she quickly shook her head. "But the water and the soap's the worst part! Your body's gonna be all red and in pain when you get out… I can't do much after that…"

"S-So… you _want_ … to be in here… with me… w-when…" Ly's face was glowing red at this point, her embarrassment growing at a steady pace, "I-I-I'm n-naked…?"

Anoel's lips snapped shut as the tiniest blush slipped into her own cheeks.

She didn't realize that until now.

"I-Is that wrong?" Ano asked softly.

"I… uh…" There was a little panic in Ly's wide eyes as her awkwardness made her fidget a little, grasping at the hem of her shirt and turning her gaze further away.

Ano immediately broke her own gaze the other way. She didn't want to pressure her. That was the last thing she wanted to do.

But she was here to help take away as much pain as possible too.

She knew what it felt like to shower with cuts covering the majority of your body. It hurt. There usually wasn't anything you can do about that.

You just kinda had to grit your teeth and push through it until the burning and the stinging was all over.

Or your body got used to the pain.

"You don't have to if… you don't want to. I can't make you. And I don't want to make you. So, I can leave if you'd like." Ano's eyes stayed staring at the floor in narrow unsureness. "I don't want to pressure you at all."

"Will it hurt more…?" Ly asked quietly, "If I have a shower then let you fix my wounds?"

Ano slowly looked to the side as she lightly clasped a hand around her wrist. "Your wounds would be more inflamed… a-and raw. It'd burn more, and hurt more, but you'd be able to do everything you needed in here in private."

The sigh that left Ly's mouth was long-winded, exasperated, and Anoel honestly flinched away from it in fear of what she'd say next.

Her eyes drifted further and further away from Ly as the fleeting moments went by. Nothing but tension and silence stood between them for a long few seconds.

"P-Please don't stare…"

Ano's gaze immediately went wide as she snapped it back to Ly, finding the girl's nervous eyes dropping their gaze to the ground and away from her own. The hand she had grabbing at her own arm only grew tighter the longer Anoel's gaze lasted.

She'd only just then snapped out of it and did as asked, quickly turning around to face away from the girl. "S-Sorry! It's just… are you… really sure about this?"

A few more moments passed as Anoel waited, but her body quickly tensed at the sound of Ly pulling off her shirt, then sliding her legs out of her jeans and leaving both in the hamper.

Her small hands stayed in tight little balls at her sides as she kept her gaze away. This would've been the first time she'd see… _her_ … like this.

She already knew she was going to stare if she peeked.

"It… takes a while for the heat to spread through the entire body… But I'll try to keep it kindled for as long as possible. It's just…"

Ano started to backtrack on her thoughts as she dipped her chin, realizing she'd already missed something she should've made clear earlier.

"It's easiest if I just hug you… to be honest…"

Ly shuffled in her spot a little more behind her, Ano's body growing tenser when she suddenly heard Ly start taking steps closer to her.

"D-Don't make it too hot…" she murmured, waiting for Ano's response.

"I won't…" Anoel quickly promised, keeping her eyes forward to keep them from darting around. "I just need to focus, really. The effects wear off after about a minute though… I'd have to keep doing it a few times while you shower."

"O-Oh jeez… okay…" Ly groaned a little, and this time she was close enough for Ano to sense the heat of her hot blush. The burning heat quickly spreading further to the bridge of her small, round nose.

She would've said the blush was cute. But she didn't want to push it.

She thought it though.

At least the hard parts were out of the way now.

It… just left one more thing.

"L-Ly, can I ask you something?" Anoel asked quietly, her paralyzed body finally starting to move a little as she took a tight grip of the hem of her shirt.

"Y-Yeah…?" the girl replied slowly, the smaller girl's eyes turning upwards to gaze at her curiously.

"I-I… want to make t-this as fair as possible… so you don't feel singled out so much, but…" The grip Ano had on her shirt grew tighter as she felt Ly step up into her peripherals, Ano's own gaze immediately turning the other way. "I've been hiding something… because I didn't know how you'd take it."

"What is it?" Ly returned, speaking with curiosity as she turned her gaze to Ano.

That willful curiosity only made this harder on Anoel.

The info-broker held her lips tightly together for a long few seconds, chin slowly dipping further and further away as she struggled to start getting the words out.

"I-I'm a… I'm… a…" she tugged at her shirt in her discomfort, something beneath it starting to slide around against the tightening of the fabric as it pulled taught. "a-a… fau… nus…"

"A faunus…?" Ly's voice was softer, taken aback by the confession for a couple seconds. Long, tense seconds Ano could only shy more and more away under. "W-What kind?"

 _What… kind?_

Anoel's eyes slowly started to widen as the tension in her shoulders began to dissipate. Her grip on her shirt finally started to grow lax as she silently turned her gaze over to Ly's.

She was just… staring innocently at her, only curious.

"Y-You don't… mind?" Anoel asked first, her own gaze turning confused and needful for some kind of response.

"Why would I?" Ly replied quickly and evenly, eyes locking with hers, burning curiosity deep within their cerulean gleam.

Anoel felt the last of the tension inside her melt away at the look in Ly's eyes. It… didn't hold the malice Ano always hid away from.

It didn't hold any of it. None at all.

"Most do, is all." Anoel finally let out a small sigh as she relaxed her shoulders, turning her gaze down and away again. "I can just show you."

If they were both showing all of themselves, she was hoping Ly would feel more comfortable about this.

And out of the corner of her eye, she caught the small nod Ly was giving her.

Anoel quietly nodded back as she held her breath, closing her eyes for a few long moments before taking a soft grip of her shirt's hem again and pulling it up.

She tugged the article of clothing over her head and held it loosely between her fingers, black feathers covering the entirety of her torso.

Her gaze quietly peered back at Ly as the glossy feathers started to move on their own, slowly unraveling and sliding to loosen from around her body and drape toward the floor.

They were… black wings…

Ly stared in silence for a long, tense while, eyes flicking between the wings and seemingly forgetting that she was standing half-naked in front of Ano as her arms hung loosely by her sides.

Ano forgot about that too.

Ly blinked, but after a little longer, she finally began to stammer something out.

"I… I was expecting a t-tail…" she said softly. "I-I didn't even know winged faunus _existed…_ "

"A… tail?" Anoel reiterated quietly, the tips of her wings gently furling and unfurling against the cold bathroom floor. But after a few seconds, she couldn't help but smile at the weird expectation. "Yeah, winged faunus are more rare, but they exist. And I guess having wings is like having two tails, so does that count?"

"I um… I _guess…_ " Ly shook her head and blinked rapidly for a moment, her thoughts starting to clear out of her stupor. "They're so... _big…_ "

Anoel's smile only grew at that as she started to giggle. "Is that it? Your first question… is wondering why they're so big?"

Ano took one of her wings into her hands as she smiled at it, running her fingers over the feathers before turning her gaze over to Ly.

"Yeah, they're pretty big. It's so that I can actually fly. Did you… want to touch them?" Anoel asked softly.

Ly nodded as she slowly padded her way toward Anoel, daintily holding out her right arm toward Ano's wing.

She was hesitant to bridge the gap, waiting for silent permission, and looking to Ano with longing in her cerulean eyes.

Ano just nodded reassuringly, letting her know she can touch it all she wanted.

Ly returned the gesture and carefully touched the tip of Ano's wing with her index finger, applying the faintest amount of pressure as she stroked a single feather.

Anoel couldn't help but giggle softly at that as she ran her own fingers down the expanse of her wing, sliding her palm softly over every feather she could touch.

"They're not as delicate as they look, so feel free to reach for more than one feather. They're soft, too. They won't catch at all, if you're worried you'll hurt me."

"N-No… I've just… never seen anything like this before…" Ly replied putting a little more effort into stroking the tip of Ano's wing. Her hand gradually moved to touch it with the rest of her fingers, delicate motions eventually transitioning to her entire palm.

Her touch was considerate of Ano, and yet her curiosity was being sated as she grew more confident with letting her hand slide carefully through the feathers.

Ano's giggling persisted as she dipped her chin, feeling Ly's touch start to get more confident as it grazed through the layers of her feathers.

"I guess I'm your first winged faunus then." Being cheeky though, Ano lifted her other wing into view and held it up, drifting it over to nudge itself into Ly's other hand to brush up against its fingers.

The movement startled Ly as her head snapped to the other wing and a tiny gasp made its way out of her slightly parted lips, but she soon began treating it with the same gentle care as she did the first. Running her hands through the glossy, black feathers with the slow and steady graze of her fingers.

Ano had her eyes closed as Ly let her touches start to explore a little, just enjoying the relaxing feeling of someone else fingers threading through her feathers instead of her own. To her, it was more indescribable than someone affectionately running their fingers through her hair.

It felt better than that.

And she was getting a little drowsy from it… starting to crave the lulling sensation it was putting her into.

So she quickly started to open her heavy eyes and glanced to the shower, spotting the shower head still dangling there.

"W-We should probably get you cleaned up now."


	6. Time

A Feather Stolen

Time

«»

Anoel felt happy giving Ly the treatment she deserved.

The info-broker washed her, probably the first time she'd been cleaned since she met the thief.

And had gone through the trouble of treating all her wounds, applying cream where necessary and stitching her cuts up before covering them.

She looked different after all of that.

Younger, brighter.

Even cuter.

Both girls shared Anoel's bed, Ano taking a little extra time to put Ly's dirty clothes through the wash after giving her the only set of pajamas she had.

The rest of her wardrobe being jeans, Anoel didn't have anything else soft to wear, so she threw on a shirt she always felt was big on her.

Then acted as Ly's personal heater all night.

That was five months ago.

Ano sat in a booth this time in the downstairs bar, still toying with a small card of paper between her fingers as the ice in her drink clinked quietly.

She turned it around and around, one word just constantly repeating in her mind as she sat there in thought.

 _Time…_

She was giving as much time to her as she needed. But she was starting to fear she was giving her too much of it…

' _I'll see you soon, Anoel. -Ly.'_

It was the note Ly left her when she disappeared that morning. Before she could even wake up.

What if she was in danger and needed help? What if the plan… didn't work? What if Ly needed her… and all she was doing was sitting here, waiting for her to come back on her own?

What if-

The ice in Anoel's drink clinked again as it melted more and more into her soda, small fingers putting the card away as someone's voice spoke up.

"Hey, Ano! You up for a rematch yet?"

It was Onyx again. When she glanced to him, he didn't seem to have that challenging gleam in his eyes like usual.

He looked more worried than anything else.

She'd been moping around for a few weeks now.

Of course he'd notice…

"Y-Yeah, just… gimme a bi-"

Anoel's glass suddenly threw itself over as the ground shook violently, steadily breaking glasses throughout the bar as a shockwave ripped through the air.

Ano's eyes immediately shot up to the windows, patrons standing to the feet and meandering over as the rumbling stilled.

An enormous plume of black smoke billowed into the sky in the far distance, over the horizon of the streets and surrounding buildings.

It was… huge…

Distant sirens echoed through the air as Anoel got to her own feet, boots stepping into spilled soda as she pushed her way out of her booth and through the crowd of people far bigger than her.

She immediately pressed her hands against the glass there as she looked out, small cracks of fire illuminating the inside of the smoke as it rose into the sky.

That was a bomb…

A very… very big bomb.

Anoel's eyes grew wide as she glanced back, the silence of the bar filling the air with an uneasy tension as she looked to Niro's dad. Niro himself just stood idly behind him, cleaning the dishes.

"W-What was that?" she asked quietly, most of the crowd huddling by the door now to get outside and get a closer look.

"Probably a gas main leakage, or something similar. Looks like an entire block just went up," he replied evenly, drying out a glass with a white cloth of his own. "Terrorists haven't hit that side of town in years. Hard to believe they'd try to attract Grimm _now_ after so long of silence."

B-But that couldn't be, could it? "How would they even plan around us? We have eyes and ears _everywhere_."

Apparently, though, it was too much to ask for them to keep a lookout for Ly's description.

Niro's dad just frowned. "So, just a gas leak then."

"A-A gas leak couldn't cause _that_ much damage…" Ano whined in return, turning half around to stare at him.

His eyes transferred to something just outside the window, then slowly brought his gaze back to meet with Ano's again. "Guess it was just about time it happened."

Time? What did time have to do with-

The slam of the bar door resonated throughout the tense silence, followed shortly by the heavy panting of labored breathing.

Anoel's gaze immediately shot to the noise as her eyes went wide, heart suddenly throbbing up to a rapid pace to apparently match the one in front of her.

"Anoel…?"

Blonde hair, blue eyes, and a voice so _painfully_ familiar it nearly made the info-broker's knees buckle upon hearing it.

"L-Ly…?"

W-Was… that what he meant by time?

Anoel was completely frozen, just staring at the slender shoulders quickly rising and falling on the girl before her as her mouth suddenly went dry.

"Y-You're-"

Her speech was cut off by the girl crossing the distance between them quickly and throwing her arms around her.

Ano was still struggling to move.

A soft sob wracked throughout the smaller girl's body as she muttered words of relief, Ano's arms finding just enough strength to finally wrap around the girl holding her.

"We're free… it worked… he did it…"

"H-He did?" Anoel asked quietly, urgently. The grip she found in her arms grew stronger by the second as her heart finally left her throat, but still somehow echoed in her ears to make hearing harder. "That explosion… it was… your cousin?"

Ly nodded her head, still buried in Ano's neck, warm tears flowing down her cheeks as her hold tightened.

 _Free…_ Anoel's grip finally came alive as she hugged Ly back in full force, slowly burying her face into the crook of her neck as her wide eyes sheened over.

A quivered breath left her muffled lips as she shoved her own teary face into Ly's shoulder, fingers clutching at whatever dirty cloth she could get her hands on of Ly's coat.

"F-Free… for good…?" she couldn't help but choke out softly, lifting her face just long enough to get the strained words out.

"For good…" Ly echoed, loosening her grip but still holding on.

Ano was having none of that. She immediately burrowed all she had back into Ly's warmth as she rapidly nodded, stuffing her face back into the soft skin of her neck.

The plan worked…

It actually worked.

And Ano couldn't be happier.

It only took another worry to pass through Ano's eyes to make her lift her head again, moving it far enough away to look at Ly's face in concern. "W-Where's your cousin? Is he safe?"

"H-He went back to get our belongings. I told him to meet me somewhere in the city before we head for the mountains," Ly explained carefully. "There's an old mining shaft that he's interested in… says he could make use of it for something."

The mountains…? But… those were away and out of the city…

Anoel's eyes immediately grew pained again after feeling all that joy, her fingers loosening in their grip. "Y-You're leaving?"

Ly shook her head fervently. "No… not yet, not for a week at least…"

A week was… all she had? Ano's arms suddenly felt numb again as she lost her grip on Ly's coat. "W-Would you visit after?"

"I'm only going with him to see him there safely," Ly replied, the smallest of smiles appearing on her face. "Once he's there, I'm coming back."

Ano's distancing thoughts suddenly reeled back at those last few words, her mind clinging to them just as securely as she's been protective over Ly. Her entire face lit up in the same moment, the shock of the words finally letting the tears building in her eyes go.

"S-So… You'll visit after the week? C-Can I spend that week with you?" she was embarrassed to feel her voice falter and turn meek, but she didn't care. This could've been the first time she'll be able to spend an entire week with Ly.

"W-We still need that ice cream you mentioned…" Ly replied, just as shyly, her smile brightening a little as she said that. "I even have the money to pay for it now too…"

That small, beaming ray of a smile was all Ano needed. Her entire gloomy world suddenly shattered as she took a tight hold of Ly's hands and shook her head. "We have ice cream here, if you want. No charge."

"I'd like that…"

Her hands soon dropped from Ano's grasp as she reached inside her coat's inner pocket, pulling out a glass encasement.

"Look what I found too." There was a little prideful gleam in her eyes, shining with the slightest hint of pink as they turned to face Niro's dad.

The sound of a glass setting down against a hardwood counter lightly tapped into the room as he met it, Ano turning to see what he'd say too.

"I take it that's you accepting the job offer?" he asked.

The girl nodded. "I don't think the Atlesian museum wanted it anymore… they kept it in a really easy spot…"

"Only easy to you," he replied, picking up another glass from the drying rack behind him. "I'll leave your lien in Ano's room, assuming you'll be around to pick it up."

She sheepishly scratched the back of her head. "I… don't have any other plans for tonight…"

Ano's eyes lit up all over again at hearing that. "Then we'll make them!"

She immediately took Ly's hands again and tugged Ly across the room, giving Niro's dad a cheeky smile as she ran by with Ly trailing behind her.

" _Starting_ with ice cream!"

Ly willingly followed, not before throwing the idol to Niro's dad and the man catching it without looking.

Ano didn't wait any longer to drag Ly into the back to grab a full carton of vanilla ice cream out of their freezer, slipping around Niro to grab two spoons to go with it before disappearing up the stairs in a rush.

She wanted to take Ly somewhere that _wasn't_ her room for a change.

So she took her to the roof instead.

The breeze fluttered her hair as soon as she breached the door to the open sky just outside, one hand still tightly holding onto one of Ly's own as the carton rested in her other hand.

Ly held the spoons.

"Wanna sit up here?" Ano asked, turning an excited gaze back to look at Ly just behind her. "It's away from the bar. Quiet too."

"Yeah... " Ly breathed out, smiling softly as she took a seat on the edge of the rooftop, her legs dangling over the edge.

Anoel climbed down next to her, plopping herself onto the edge to sit herself closely against Ly's side to overlook the streets below.

And the hazy, smokey sky above the cityscape before them.

"Okay. It's vanilla, but I don't know if you'd like it. Is that okay?" Ano asked, moving the carton into view to set it on their conjoined laps.

Ly looked to her and nodded, the same small smile still adorning her face. "I'm just happy to eat ice cream…" she replied earnestly, offering Ano one of the spoons she held.

Anoel gingerly took the spoon from Ly's small hand with barely contained excitement, prying the lid off the carton of ice cream between them as she smiled. "I'm happy to eat it with you, and see what you think of it now that you're having it again."

Ano's eyes quickly cast up to look back at Ly's irises, hoping to catch the second the flavor hit her. But that was when she started to notice the lack of blue in them…

They were even pinker than last time, now.

"W-What's wrong?" Ly asked quietly, dipping her chin away sheepishly under the info-broker's gaze.

She hadn't even realized she was staring. "Your eyes…"

Ly's gaze returned to Ano, furrowing her brows slightly as her irises changed to accomodate more blue. "I-Is there something wrong with them…?"

Ano watched the small transition and leaned in, brushing her nose over Ly's to try to get a closer look at her irises. "They… were pink a moment ago… The same thing happened when Niro's dad offered you that job last time you were here. Only, they were pinker this time."

A sudden, visible realisation washed over Ly, her eyes developing a soft, pink hue again as she stared down at the street, watching the passersby, staying aloof with a distinct lack of interest.

"This is the first time I've felt genuine happiness in a long time… My eyes… they change to reflect that," she said earnestly, her little smile returning to her face. "I-I guess you've only ever seen them blue before."

Ano's own smile started to form as she brushed her nose up against Ly's cheek, wanting her gaze to turn back to her as a toothy smile came over her features. "I like it. They look good on you… Mine only change color to match my mood."

Or was it emotion? She always forgot that specific part.

Ly turned to face her, "I noticed that…" Her smile grew a little more as she looked directly into Ano's eyes. "I thought that was pretty cool."

Ano's cheeks tinted pink as she leaned away, but her eyes shimmered gold at the comment. "I-I've never really liked it. They give me away."

"Yeah… I guess I got off lucky then…" Ly returned distantly, eyes adopting a fully pink hue as she continued to stare.

Anoel only found herself shrinking away from that steady interest, her eyes suddenly flashing orange. "I-I don't know… It's hard for luck to make someone that pretty."

Ly's chin dipped as her face heated into a small blush, her eyes looking down to the tub of ice cream between them before gazing back up to Anoel's.

Ano finally found it in herself to drop her gaze away as she looked to the carton of ice cream too, suddenly too nervous to meet that gaze. "D-Do you… wanna t-try the ice cream n-now?"

Her eyes were burning orange now, steering radically away from the gold shade they had earlier.

"Y-Yeah…" Ly's voice came out as a little breathless as she took her spoon into her right hand. "It's been sitting there melting and I haven't had any yet..."

Ano's eyes immediately widened at that, an apologetic gaze shooting out of them to meet Ly's face again. "S-Sorry! That's my fault… I get hot when I'm nervous like this."

"Well… I don't have a curfew anymore…" Ly replied looking down to the ice cream for a sparing moment before returning her rosy eyes to Anoel's with a warmer smile. "We can always get more."

"T-This was all we had in the f-freezer… We were going to restock tomorrow, but…" Ano trailed off, staring down at the melting tub of ice cream in shame.

Ly dug her hand into her pocket and pulled out some spare lien cards. "I-I meant buy some… but let's eat it now before it becomes just cream."

Anoel gave a tiny nod as she brought her gaze back to Ly's, finding it to be the pinkest it's been so far. "Y-Yeah… I-I still struggle w-with delicate things right now, s-so I'm glad we have time this time. For when I mess up."

"I don't think you'll mess up," Ly replied innocently as she dug her spoon into the ice cream, slowly scooping out a large mouthful, bringing it up and placing it in her mouth.

There went the tiny licks theory. At least, with spoons. Not cones.

She needed to find her a cone now.

Ano watched carefully as Ly ate her bite, not scooping her own yet as she felt herself transfixed on just the idea of witnessing the faces Ly might make after eating the ice cream.

She hadn't had it in so long…

The girl's face changed slightly, a thoughtful expression spreading and her small nose crinkled slightly as she closed her eyes and shuddered involuntarily.

"Ow… I-I forgot about that…"

Brainfreeze. It was brainfreeze.

Ano couldn't help but giggle at the cute display, watching as Ly winced a little as she leaned in again.

Anoel was really good at messing up, so she was really hoping this wasn't one of those times.

"I-I can help with that… if you want," the info-broker teased softly, leaning in to peer into Ly's squinted eyes and brush up against her scrunched nose.

The girl's eyes widened as she realised how close Ano was, the smallest hint of confusion in her pink eyes as her breath hitched and her cheeks reddened. "H-Huh?"

Ano couldn't help but smile nervously at how fast Ly's blush formed, her thoughts quickly getting drowned out by the beating of her heart. "I can make the brainfreeze go away. And I need to make due with the promise I made."

Ly's confusion only grew until her eyes widened a fraction further at what Ano meant.

Her mirthful smile couldn't be cheekier. "Brainfreeze still need to go?"

Ly's blush only got worse as she dipped her chin, Ano happily leaning in closer. After a few seconds, Ly gave the tiniest nods of her head to answer her.

Ano smiled at that… because Ly was lying.

She silently closed the minuscule distance between their faces and lightly pressed her lips against Ly's own, feeling Ly freeze and lock up from the gentle kiss, offering the tiniest little whimper.

When Ano suddenly started to feel concerned that she really did mess up again, her eyes cracked open in worry. But as soon as she did, she watched Ly's blush only spread before melting into the kiss.

That was enough to flutter Ano's heart in her chest as she suppressed a squeal, breaking the contact with a stupid smile and a little pant.

"I told you I'd have to kiss you if you were away longer than two months this time," she muttered under her breath, keeping the tip of her nose brushing against Ly's cute one to give her the tiniest bit of distance.

The girl inhaled and quickly hid her flustered face away for a moment as she continued to breathe.

"I-I-I uh…" her stammer only made Ano's simpering smirk widen as she waited for Ly to make eye contact again.

When she did, her eyes were fluctuating erratically between a brilliant cerulean and rose gold before settling on a mix of the two as she turned back to meet Ano's expectant gaze.

Her cheeks and nose were still a bright red from the embarrassment, but there was a longing look in her eyes that the info-broker couldn't ignore.

Anoel's heart was beating out of her chest at that, hoping the girl couldn't hear how deafening it was right now as she happily gazed into the bright eyes looking back at her.

"Did I make the brainfreeze go away?"

Ly hesitantly nodded as she took a deep breath. "Y-You d-did more than that…"

Ano quirked her head in reply to that, a small hint of confusion changing her expression. But that was overtaken with a reddening blush sweeping through her own cheeks. "I did?"

Ly silently nodded in response, her eyes adopting a slightly pinker gaze as the longing held within them grew.

"I-Is it b-bad to admit…" Ly paused for a moment, her eyebrows furrowing briefly before letting them relax, "I enjoyed that…?"

Anoel's smile returned as her blush spread to her ears, softly shaking her head. "N-No. I did too."

She couldn't help but cheekily grin as her heart fluttered again, nuzzling the tip of her nose against the tip of Ly's, hot to the touch.

"Can I have another one?" Ano asked in a light tone.

Ly's slow nod was all the permission she needed.


	7. A Good Morning

A Feather Stolen

A Good Morning

«»

Anoel's cheek nuzzled into Lylac's shoulder as she clung to the other girl's body in her sleep. She still never got around to buying a new set of pajamas, so she was just in another loose shirt.

She'd given Ly her first set of jammies to keep.

But the more Ano slept like that, the more she started to realize that comfortably warm body was still there.

Curled against her side in the middle of her bed.

The small realization suddenly brought Anoel out of her dreams as she tightened her hold slightly around Ly, double checking that she wasn't imagining things before peering out with cracked eyelids.

Ly was still asleep in her short arms… and she actually looked peaceful for a change.

Warm, clean, fed, and… startlingly cute.

Ano hadn't ever seen Ly asleep like this yet, not with a relaxed expression. So this was a first.

A lot like the firsts they had yesterday on the roof.

Anoel glanced to her propped scroll on the nightstand and squinted her eyes slightly, finding the time. They were up late last night, so it was late morning. Almost afternoon.

But Ano wanted to stay like this. For as long as possible.

She just… knew they had to eat soon.

The young girl placed her hand gently on the bed to lift herself up slightly, keeping from shifting the bed too much as she slipped her arm from beneath Ly's body.

Two loose arms suddenly clung to her own waist a little tighter, but they weren't tight enough to pull her back down.

It was just a needful clinging to a warm body, and Ano was suddenly starting to rethink getting out of bed just yet.

Even just to bring food back up for the two of them to eat.

Ano leaned back down and brushed a small, stray strand of blonde hair out of Ly's sleeping face, wondering how much longer the thief was going to be asleep.

With half a thought to just poke Ly in the cheek, Ano decided against it. She quietly moved closer instead, maneuvering herself to curl back up and rest on top of Ly this time.

The phoenix found a new warm pillow in the crook of Ly's pale neck as she closed her eyes, letting her body rest down against Ly's own before fully relaxing back into the girl's warmth.

Maybe just a few more minutes like this…

10, maybe 15 minutes passed before the slightest hint of stirring emitted from the girl beneath Ano, drawing the info-broker's attention as she heard a little yawn.

Ly's body relaxed before she made an attempt to stretch, her shorter legs extending out as far as they could reach as her arms did the same.

A tiny groan escaping the girl's parted lips as she did so, only before her body relaxed once more.

Ano couldn't hold in the adoring little giggle coming out of her throat at Ly's cuteness, nuzzling playfully into the girl's neck to remind her she was on top of her.

"That was cute," Anoel whispered teasingly, slipping her hands beneath the small of Ly's back to take a tighter hold of her body pillow.

"Are you always gonna do that?" was the tired reply Ano received as she felt delicate fingers navigate through her wings.

"You're too cute not to." Ano held her breath for a moment as she started to squirm a little, grip starting to constrict a little more around Ly's waist. "A-Am I too h-heavy?"

She felt Ly's head shake a little. "No… you're _really_ light." Her fingers continued to play with Ano's feathers, while they were exposed to the thief.

Anoel's breath hitched for a moment as Ly's hand found its way into the crook of her wing, the phoenix's grip suddenly locking like a vice while the rest of her body tensed up.

Ly's body flinched in response to the sudden clamping around her waist. "D-Did I hurt you…?"

Anoel's buried face quickly shook as her breath quivered a little, the response she wanted to say earlier getting lost. "N-No. My w-wings are j-just sensitive there…"

Ly's hands hesitated for a moment, before slowly backtracking toward the sensitive spot. "Where...? _Here?_ "

As she enunciated the word, her thumbs on either wing firmly massaged into her crook of her wing.

Ano's breath sucked into her throat as she stuffed her face into Lylac's neck, whining softly at the teasing as the hands she kept wrapped tightly around Ly's waist started to tremble.

The bare legs she still didn't know what to do with quickly entangled into the sheets and locked around Lylac's legs beneath the covers now too.

"I think I know how to stop you from leaving…" the thief whispered gently, the smallest hint of a smile in her voice as her effort to rub the sensitive spots doubled.

Anoel's whines only got a little louder as she started to grow limp on top of Ly's frame, squished face murmuring an impulsive retaliation against Ly's warm neck. " _B-Bite me_."

Her usual comeback response.

"If I did that, I'd get feathers in my mouth…" Ly responded innocently, but with her actions in this moment, she was anything _but._

Ano whined louder now. She didn't mean it like that, thinking it'd probably hurt as her tight grip finally grew fully lax and her clinging body just forfeited all control over to the fingers rubbing into her feathers.

A small, almost purring rumble started to filter out of Anoel's slightly parted lips as the girl blushed heavily. Her red face quickly pushed into Lylac's shoulder to try to stifle it and hide it.

"A-Are you… _purring_ …?" Ly asked surprisedly, her dexterous fingers continuing to massage the area still. "I didn't know you could do that…"

The purring was starting to melt into a rumbly, purred coo as Anoel's whining grew silent, face getting redder as she tried to defend herself.

"I-I'm not… p-purring…"

And she did just that. Pathetically. And in a meek voice.

"I think it's cute…" Ly commented earnestly. "I only thought feline faunus could do that. That's what my uncle taught me."

Anoel grumbled out a muffled, embarrassed whine as her chest continued to purr softly against Ly's own, the rumbling growing constant. "G-Guess not…"

She had an uncle?

Ly steadily continued to rub her fingers in small circles on Ano's wings, gradually moving away from the spot before working her way back toward it, content with laying there and keeping Ano unwillingly pinned against her.

Ano's breathing had already grown shallow as she melted on top of Ly, growing completely limp now as she closed her eyes and lost her ability to speak.

She just mumbled occasionally in embarrassment, trying to break up the purred cooing incessantly rumbling out of her chest and throat.

After several minutes of them stuck there in that position, the day transitioning into the early afternoon, Ly finally stopped just long enough for Ano to pick her mind up out of the gutter.

"I'm hungry."

The words dully sifted into Anoel's hearing after a while and she finally started to gain some semblance of control over her muscles again.

She just… felt so loose and relaxed. And really, _really_ hot.

"T-Then bite me."

The response took Ly by surprise as she choked out a response. "H-Huh?"

Now that she could finally move, Anoel nipped at Ly's slender neck and sucked a little skin between her teeth, nibbling a gasp out of Ly's upturning lips.

"Just like that," Anoel murmured.

She could feel the heat rising out of Ly's cheeks as the girl struggled to formulate a response that couldn't even be interpreted as actual speech. "Y-You… I-I…"

Ano hummed playfully as she pushed weak arms against the bed, prying herself away from the intoxicating warmth pressing up into her. "You found my sensitive spot. I'm going to find yours."

Ly's constantly shifting eye color was a strong indicator of her confused state, and the blush dusting on her cheeks and nose only affirmed the raging embarrassment she felt.

"But I think I just did," Anoel finished with a cheeky smile, pressing her hands into the bed at either side of Lylac's head as she dipped her lips down again.

Aiming for the other side of Ly's neck this time.

The girl squirmed beneath her, before bracing herself against an attack she couldn't defend against. "N-No…"

The denial slipped into the air as gently as Anoel slipped back down against Ly's body, forcing the smirk from her lips as she kissed the side of Ly's neck.

The side she hadn't been cradling for half an hour now.

Small lips took vengeful advantage of the sensitive skin there as she peppered it with slow, just barely moving kisses, eventually making her way down to Ly's slender collarbone.

Ly's breathing shuddered heavily out of her parted lips as she became red hot, submitting to the caustic, delicate kisses with bated breathing.

The phoenix planted one final kiss there before moving back up, suckling another bite into the sensitive skin just above it to match the one she left on the other side.

"There. Now we're even," Ano stated lightly, nuzzling Lylac's hot cheek on her way up before leaning over the girl beneath her. Keeping their faces just a centimeter apart, and never dropping that satisfied smile.

A breathless response escaped Ly as she meekly nodded, trying fruitlessly to avoid Ano's amused gaze.

"Y-Yeah…"

Ano chased the small tilt to Ly's head just as quickly as she made it, the phoenix's eyes brightening when she got Lylac to look back up at her.

It was almost too cute…

"Can I get a good morning kiss now?" Anoel asked softly, wanting Ly to be the one to start it this time.

The thief's head turned briefly to the scroll on the nightstand, blonde tresses swaying a little as she eyed the time before returning those eyes back to the info-broker. "It's afternoon now…"

"Kiss me anyway."

The girl did as she was asked and met Anoel's lips with her own, Ano's heart lurching in her chest as she reciprocated the deepening kiss.

When the young phoenix finally pulled back, Ano couldn't help but break into a smile at the way Ly's cheeks were flushed and her breathing came out in short breaths.

"Is it bad that I wanna stay in bed and do this all afternoon?" Anoel asked breathlessly, dipping back down to brush the tip of her nose against Ly's.

"It's… an intriguing offer…" Ly replied slowly. "But I'm hungry…"

"So am I," Anoel offered back, giving a cheeky smile. "For you."

Ly's already heated blush turned a darker shade of red as her eyes averted slightly. "I-I'm serious…"

"I am too," Anoel replied back, her smile falling for a moment as she gave Lylac a serious gaze. But she quietly started to shift her weight and pushed against the bed, sitting up on Ly's waist. "We can eat, though. We missed breakfast."

Ly nodded a little as her eyes met Anoel's again. "Does Niro's dad do lunch?"

The small info-broker gave a steady nod before smiling again. "He does every meal, but we'd have to pay for it anyway. Wanna go out somewhere?"

"Yeah, I've always seen food in storefronts, but never had the money to buy any before," Ly responded as she sat up, resting on her elbows as her eyes fell to her coat draped on Ano's desk.

Anoel's grin grew excited as she climbed off Lylac to let her sit up, sitting back on her folded legs beside the girl. "I'll let you lead the way then. Wherever you want to go, we'll try it. I'm really hungry anyway, so we can try a couple things if you want."

"I don't know if I can nibble that fast…" The thief replied meekly as she tilted her head down slightly, pulling her left leg up against her chest as her right dangled by the edge of the bed.

"We have all day," Ano said with a small giggle, watching Ly be cute. "So come on, your clothes are washed and folded by your coat. We can head out as soon as we're changed too, because I don't have any responsibilities today."

Ly smiled before shuffling to her feet and padding her way over to the desk, kicking off the pajama bottoms as she walked.

Ano watched for a moment before her cheeks went a little red, admitting to herself that she wanted to stare more than actually get changed herself.

But she quickly reasoned that out of her mind and slipped out of the bed herself, walking the opposite way Ly did to bound her way to the dresser. She had a little bounce in her bare step, tugging her shirt off as soon as she got there before rummaging through her hanging clothes.

Lylac was pretty quick at getting changed, already pulling her shirt over her head before Ano pulled on a pair of pants. The girl pulling her coat over her shoulders not long after Ano did the top button at her waist.

The info-broker quickly pulled out a hanging shirt, her black wings draped to the floor and unwrapped for now as she considered what she wanted to wear. She was always so picky with shirts…

Because those are the things that are brushing against her wings at all times of day.

Ly leaned against the desk, eyeing Ano neutrally as she patiently waited, didn't stop her pink and blue gaze wandering a little before quickly snapping to the floor.

Anoel didn't wear anything beneath her night shirt… so her standing in just her jeans and her wings draped to the floor really tempted her attention back to the closet.

But after a few long moments, Anoel put one of the two shirts back she was holding and threw a soft white tank-top on. Her black wings wrapped back around her torso and cupped her chest like a thin, skin-tight corset, the thickness of her wings disappearing beneath the white cloth.

She quickly grabbed at her usual brown jacket to throw overtop of her clothes, plopping herself down at the bed again to slide into a pair of socks and slip into her boots, jumping back up as soon as she was done.

"Sorry, most shirts are uncomfortable. So I'm still trying to find a good quality brand to get," Anoel said, turning back to Ly to meet the girl's lifting gaze.

"It must be nice having a choice of clothes to wear," Ly commented lightly, staring down at her older, worn clothing. "I don't really own much else but these."

"C'mere then," Anoel stated firmly, making her way over to the girl leaning against her desk before lightly pulling her toward her closet. "We should go shopping after we eat. I'll help you pick out some nice stuff to wear too, and a lot of my current clothes should fit you. So I don't mind sharing."

Ly's eyes brightened a little at hearing those words. "I wanna do that. I was gonna try to save for a new coat anyway."

"I can help you pick one out then," Ano offered, giving the girl a wide smile.

Ly smiled and nodded in response to that. An earnest gaze in her eyes.


	8. Day Off

A Feather Stolen

Day Off

«»

Vale's streets were bustling as they usually were for a weekday, citizens going about their daily business as they walked down the main streets of Central Vale.

None of them paying attention to the fourteen-year-old and fifteen-year-old teenage girls holding hands as they strolled from storefront to storefront, enjoying each other's company.

"It's really busy during the day…" Ly commented lightly as her pearlescent eyes observed her surroundings. "I've never seen it like this before."

"Work day, so everyone's out and about," Ano answered, swinging their entwined hands as she looked down the sidewalk ahead of them. "I don't have to, though. I have the day off. So we can be out for as long as you want."

Ly smiled at her as wavy blonde locks bounced slightly with each step she took. "So long as that's okay."

"Don't worry, it's okay, and he knows I'm out," Anoel replied. She quickly donned a reassuring smile as she brushed some of her own raven hair back over her ear, holding it there for a moment beneath the lip of her hat. "Where did you wanna go first? Are you hungry for anything?"

Ly shrugged before nodding a little. "I'm a little hungry, but I've never really been to Vale during the day. I don't know many cafes and stuff, just street layouts."

The young info-broker's interlaced fingers tightened for a moment as Anoel took a step ahead of the the girl, dipping her hat to peer up at Ly before pointing across the street. "Well, there's all kinds of cafes in this district. Bakeries too. We're close to the plaza, so there's a lot of food accessible to-go."

Ly smiled when her eyes followed Ano's finger, their hue naturally switching to a lighter pink as she nodded. "Anywhere is okay, so long as we eat."

"Nope~" Anoel interjected, holding up a slim finger to make a point. "Today's about _you_ , silly. Of course it matters what we eat. It'll be whatever you're craving, and I'm happy to pay for it too."

Ly hummed thoughtfully as she brought a finger up to poke at her bottom lip, considering her options for a second before her hand fell back down to her side and she glanced to Anoel. "Can we try a hotdog? I've never had one before."

Ano's lips quickly curled into a smile and she immediately nodded her head, her next step taking a little skipped bounce on the sidewalk as she tugged Lylac to a distant hotdog stand. "Of course! Do you know what you can put on it?"

Ly shook her head hesitantly, confusion settling in her eyes as she maintained eye contact.

"You'll see, then. They're just condiments, and it's all optional stuff too," Anoel replied quickly, smirking back at the girl. Before long, Ano's small boots came to a stop shortly in front of the targeted stand, her bright eyes peering up at the vendor happily. "One hotdog, please! _Aaaaand-_ "

Anoel whirled around, keeping her fingers locked comfortably in Ly's grasp as she nudged the girl toward the stand a little.

"-this pretty little lady's gonna pick the condiments," Ano declared. "You can choose whatever you think would taste good."

Ly shuffled a little nervously in front of the stand, almost shrinking under the expectant gaze of the vendor. "I… um…"

She paused, reading off of the menu with cautious eyes. "K-Ketchup and… onions, please."

"Sure thing! I'll get the hotdog fixed up in a jiffy," the vendor responded, Ano still beaming up at him as he went about assorting the fast food onto a paper-held bun.

"Sounds good," Anoel chirped in return, turning her eyes back to Ly now as she plucked a few napkins from the stand, knowing they'd need them.

She soon realized something and popped the edge of the napkins between her lips to hold, reaching down with her free hand to pull her wallet out of her boot.

"I hofe you on't mine," she was only _slightly_ muffled by the napkins. Slightly. "I figuref we coul share fo we won't ee too full affer frying it."

"I don't mind sharing but…" Ly paused for a moment, reaching into the pocket of her coat before pulling out a couple of lien cards. "I wanna pay..."

Ano's eyes lifted back up from her separate hand rummaging through her lien, meeting with Ly's again as the girl looked at her. "Fhy?"

"I dunno… I have my _own_ money now… so I just…" The girl trailed off as her eyes fell to the cards she held fanned out in her hand.

Anoel's gaze stayed on Ly's for a few long seconds… It looked like this was just something Ly's always wanted to do someday.

To actually pay for something.

"Ofay," Anoel muffled back, clasping her thin wallet closed again before lifting her leg this time, slipping it into the inner compartment of her boot.

She finally took the napkins out from between her lips after that.

"But I wanna pay for the next thing we get," Ano said.

Ly looked to her with a small smile and nodded lightly before refocusing her attention to the vendor as he finished up their hotdog. It looked like he took his time with it, too.

Did he figure this was a special hotdog order?

The blonde offered the cards to him once he handed it over, and Ano was glad to see a welcoming smile on the man's face.

"Enjoy the hotdog, lassies. Feel free to stop by anytime," he said, moving his burly arm up to tap the back of his finger against his sign. "I'm open mondays to fridays, hours are up top too."

"Thank you," Anoel replied back with a smile and a small wave, offering Ly a few napkins as the two stepped away from the vendor.

The girl took them and pocketed them before happily following Ano to wherever she pleased. She looked more content with having something to eat than anything else.

"Okay, the hardest part about eating a hotdog is not getting anything on your cheeks or nose," Anoel pointed out lightly, eyes casually watching Ly's face and reactions as they walked. "It's harder than it sounds. Especially for me, 'cause I have a small mouth."

Ly giggled to herself a little before nodding. "It's okay, that's what the napkins are for."

"Exactly," Anoel chirped again, part of her wondering why Ly was giggling. "What's with the cute giggle? Did I say something weird?"

Ly shook her head while trying to conceal a smile while dipping her chin. "No… it's nothing."

Anoel hummed as she narrowed her eyes playfully, knowing it wasn't nothing. But with Ly's growing smile, she kept herself from prying.

It was nice seeing her smile and giggle like that.

"Okay then. Do you want the first bite?" Ano asked, her eyes roaming over the treat between them, catching a nod from Ly as she did.

They continued aimlessly walking through Vale taking turns eating their hotdog from different ends, playfully roaming between windows and storefronts to peer inside.

By the end of it, Anoel let Ly have the last bite, her mind already set on trying to find the next thing to treat Ly to as they explored.

"Did you want something sweet this time?" she asked curiously, swinging their held hands again as she brushed her arm against Ly's own.

"We can get some more ice cream," Ly suggested lightly as she wiped her mouth with a napkin. "I want to try new flavors so-"

The girl paused as a startled expression crossed over her face, her eyes darting to her other pocket as she slipped her hand out of Anoel's and pulled out her scroll.

She opened the device, marked with a couple of dents and scratches in it's outdated form. Her eyes began reading the message she just received before closing it and dropping it back into her pocket.

Ly then casually took hold of Ano's hand again, interlacing their fingers once more.

"Ice cream sounds good," Anoel muttered, but she gave in to her curiosity pawing at her tongue and couldn't help but ask Ly about the message. "Was that your cousin?"

Ly nodded as her eyes adopted a pink hue. "Yeah. He was just letting me know that he's ready to leave for the mountains at the end of the week, and that he'll be staying at a little hotel in the meantime."

Anoel slowly nodded her head, her voice sounding impressed as she glanced back to Ly's eyes. "He's already making progress, huh?"

Delicate eyebrows knitted together on Ly's face in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"It hasn't even been a full day and he's already off doing something," Anoel said, lifting her hand to bump her hat up a little to keep her gaze unobstructed. "I'm just saying he sounds super productive. Most people aren't like that."

Ly's eyes widened a little before she smiled warmly. " _Oh._ Yeah… He's always been like that. He's really smart for his age so he can be independent when he needs to be."

Ano's eyes couldn't help but take in the warm smile on Ly's face, understanding the feeling talking about her cousin brought out.

"How old is he?" she asked, wanting to keep that smile going.

"He's twelve, but turns thirteen in November," Ly replied softly, her pink eyes brightening a few shades. "He doesn't act like it, though. He's really innocent to a lot of things… but excels when it comes to making stuff."

"He sounds like a tinkerer," Anoel figured, looking up at the sky for a moment as her own smile grew softer. "Kind of sounds like my little sister… She turns thirteen in November too. Just two years after I did."

Ly suddenly displayed a lot of curiosity after Ano's statement, looking at her inquisitively. "You have a sister?"

"Mhmm," Anoel hummed in reply, her voice staying light as she brought her upward gaze back down to meet with Ly's again. "She has her own bakery, actually. A nice girl's been helping her run it."

"What kind of stuff does she make?" Ly asked lightly, keeping her focused gaze on Ano as she asked.

A light giggle left Ano's lips as she looked back to the sky, letting Ly look at her like that. "She's still pretty young, but she's been fascinated with bread lately. So right now, her stock involves a lot of stuff that can be made from dough and batter. Like cakes and muffins and stuff."

Ly hummed to herself, letting her smile drop a little. "Sounds like something she takes pride in… if she has her own bakery at that age."

Ano's giggle turned into a little chuckle as she shook her head. "It's her passion, but she doesn't take pride in it. She's just doing it to impress the girl who convinced her to open it. She's the one who's been teaching my sister how to bake, actually."

"My cousin mostly builds complicated machines… and speaks about things I don't understand… and stares at screens a lot," Ly listed off, sounding a little concerned, but still maintaining a little smile. "He's a little strange, but he's really smart."

"He definitely sounds like he is," Anoel replied, her delicate fingers playing a little with Ly's hand as she brushed her thumb over the girl's knuckles. "My sister actually wants to get into that, but she's more focused on baking right now."

Ano's gaze drifted off for a moment as she said that, looking to the sky again. That girl was actually making her sister's life happy… and it kept her distracted from what it used to be.

"You know… I think it'll be fun if you two met sometime," Anoel said, gazing back at Ly with a relaxed, happy smile. "She'll like you."

"I'd like that," Ly replied gently, nodding her head.

"I would too," Ano said back, her smile widening before turning her gaze ahead of them again. Her black hair splayed out for a moment in the wind, but she caught sight of an ice cream parlor nearby. A spike of excitement slipped into her voice again. "Still want ice cream?"

Ly's smile grew into a little grin as her eyes found the parlor ahead of them, nodding again as her face seemed to brighten. "Yeah, let's get some."

When they got inside, Ly was fairly quick to secure them both a booth to sit in, while Ano waited in line to order their ice cream.

Ly already told the young phoenix her order, so Ano was just bouncing around at the back of the line. One large mint chocolate chip ice cream with chocolate sauce. To share, of course.

That's all she wanted to order and pay for.

It was pretty specific for someone who was always going with the flow and had a minimalistic taste palette, but that only excited Ano. Ly knew exactly what she wanted.

Every once in a while, Anoel turned to face the girl sat in the booth, only to receive a cute little smile in return every time she did.

Sure, it was a little crowded in here, so securing a booth was good. But Ano had to admit that she was already getting lonely without Ly at her side holding her hand…

Ano would have to make it clear exactly what _she_ wanted too once they sat down. If she could work up the nerve, anyway.

By the time Ano realized it was her turn in line, everyone in front of her was already taking their seats, the girl snapping her attention forward again when the server cleared her throat.

"Sorry! I was taking in the pretty sights," Ano said, loud enough for Ly to hear her in her seat. The info-broker hopped up to the counter and looked up at the woman serving her, holding up her finger. "One large bowl, mint chip ice cream, with chocolate sauce. And can you stick two spoons in it?"

Anoel's smile was absolutely beaming with excitement as the young woman went about preparing everything, and as she was pouring the chocolate sauce, Ano stole another glance back to the girl hanging out in the booth.

Ly was casually paying attention to her scroll, a small hint of redness on her cheeks as she looked through the device. But as Ano continued gazing at her, the girl suddenly glanced upwards, her pink tinted eyes locking with Ano's for a moment before she gave her a polite smile.

Anoel returned it coyly with amusement in her eyes, knowing the girl heard her comment about the _pretty_ sights earlier. It was only fair, anyway, to get so distracted by the sight of someone so cute sitting in one of the booths.

The tap of a glass bowl brought her attention back to the counter as Anoel's smile widened, the girl placing lien next to the order before making off with their shared ice cream.

And before long, she was carefully sliding into the booth next to Ly, placing the bowl down between them as she settled into place flush against Ly's side.

Ly's attention very quickly diverted from her scroll to the bowl of ice cream before her. The girl slipped her device into her pocket before her hand immediately went straight for one of the spoons in the bowl. She delicately carved a mouthful of ice cream up and brought it toward her mouth.

But as Ano watched, the girl opted to take tiny licks at the spoonful, Anoel's eyes widening for a moment in adoration before quickly lifting a hand to hide away her stupidly widening smile and stifle a little gawked coo.

"Cute." Anoel couldn't _help_ but mutter her thoughts, and went about her own task of taking up her spoon and eating small bites of their treat.

Ly heard the comment, and in response, her cheeks reddened a little as she slightly turned away from the phoenix. "Are… you always gonna say that…?"

Anoel stuffed her spoon in her mouth to lick some of the chocolate off, smirking all the more before taking the utensil out and leaning closer to the girl beside her. "I am, because you keep blushing at it. It only makes me wanna say it more."

Ly's cheeks only darkened when she said that, the girl helplessly trying to distract herself with the ice cream sat between them.

It was too adorable not to stare from that point on.


	9. Just Being with You

A Feather Stolen

Just Being with You

«»

Between them, Ano and Ly finished their ice cream fairly quickly. As quick as Ly can lick her spoonfuls, anyway, because Anoel started stealing bites the longer Ly took with them.

It all ended too fast, but Anoel was more than happy to keep Ly in an embarrassed fluster the whole time.

They both ended up in mutual agreement to return to the Black Stallion when they were done, mainly because Ly was satisfied with the minor tour of the city.

She wanted to take everything little by little. But as long as Ly was satisfied, Ano had no problem taking them back to the bar to settle down.

"I know that you said that you took the day off…" the blonde thief voiced timidly. "But… I'll be completely fine if you have any work you _do_ wanna get done… If you want to, at least…"

Anoel glanced up from their interlaced hands, the two walking back from the ice cream parlor as she gave a cheeky smile. "Did I say day off? I was thinking of taking the entire week off, since you'll be here for that long."

An audible intake of air sounded from Ly as the girl turned to meet Anoel's eyes. "I'm only gonna take my cousin to the mountains… Once I know he's okay, I'll be coming back… I just… don't want you to fall behind on your work stuff while I'm here…"

Ano hummed in response, giving Ly an inquisitive look before looking a little apologetic. "Are you really okay with me working while you're around though? I wanna spend time with you, and I don't want you getting bored."

Ly enthusiastically shook her head in response. "I'm more happy just being with you than _doing_ something with you…"

The girl sounded serious as she spoke, and her eyes only reinforced that as she stared intently into Ano's own.

"I saw that you have a bookcase in your room… I'm okay with reading while you're busy." The girl's tone of voice spoke as though she was desperately trying to convince Anoel.

So, Ano just slowly nodded her head, stopping the swinging of their hands for a moment as she realized she needed to be serious. "Okay. I'll work. But if you _do_ get bored or want a nice place to read, you should come down to the bar. It may be a little noisy, but you can watch me work and I _promise_ nobody will bother you."

Lylac visibly grimaced when Ano mentioned the bar, but nodded anyway before taking a slow breath. "If you need to go downstairs to the bar… I'm okay with that, but…"

She turned her head to the side slightly, a clear discomfort crossing over her face. "I… don't know if I'm _ready_ to sit in the bar yet…"

"Don't worry about it then," Anoel immediately said, stopping the both of them on the sidewalk as she took Ly's other hand up into her grasp and stood in front of her. "I work in the bar, so I kind of have to be down there. It's my job to cycle around and gather information from everyone. I don't want you sitting down there if it makes you uncomfortable."

Ano held up their interlaced hands and smiled, stepping a little closer to Ly. "I'm never at it for long. Just a few times a day. So if you wanted to wait for me upstairs… I don't mind it." All Ano wanted was for Ly to get a little more used to crowds, and she was also being a little selfish.

She just… liked it whenever Ly was in the same room as her.

Ly slowly nodded, her eyes shying from the info-broker's. "I would rather stay in your room when you go downstairs…"

The girl took a deep breath before she finally met Ano's gaze. "I'm just not good with lots of people… Especially strangers…"

Anoel gently let go of Ly's hands and delicately held the girl's cheeks instead, partly to show that she personally _didn't_ care about crowds. That she wasn't afraid of doing this kind of thing in public, even if _she_ didn't know anybody around them.

"I get it… Neither was I when I first started, but I know everyone who walks in and out of the bar. I can promise that all of them are good people, despite their reputations."

Anoel brought one of her hands down to Ly's waist and ushered them off the sidewalk, taking the girl and herself just inside the opening of an alley.

"If you ever wanted to get used to them, I'd be happy to help you. They're a fun crowd, but they can be intimidating. They were intimidating for me, too, for a while," Anoel said, stopping them in the shadows as she gave Ly a reassuring grin. "It'd be good for you… if you ever wanted to, anyway. It's not something I'll ask you to do."

Ly closed the distance between them, letting her head rest against Ano's shoulder. Something Anoel was a little shocked to feel.

"I'm not ready yet…" Her voice was barely above a whisper when she spoke, burying her face further into Anoel's collarbone as her arms wrapped around the info-broker's waist. "They… scare me, which is why I don't want to be down there for too long, not without you near me, at least."

Ano slowly brought her own arms around the girl's body pressed against her, holding her by the waist and back as Anoel dipped her own head into Ly's shoulder.

"You can take all the time in the world, if you need it," Anoel muttered quietly, raising a tender hand to softly thread her fingers through Ly's hair and support her head. "I don't mind waiting for you. I… never minded waiting, if it was for you."

Anoel's voice grew quieter by the end, her cheek brushing warmly against Ly's own as she nuzzled her for just a few seconds before pulling away.

"So, whenever you're ready, I'll be there to help you. No matter what," Ano spoke firmly, her voice falling into a light flutter near the end as she brought her hands down to hold Ly again.

"Okay…" Ly's voice came out breathless as her multicolored eyes glanced up to Ano's, her head dipping into a tiny nod as her grip loosened.

Anoel smiled in return to it, taking the tiniest step back to slip her hand back into Ly's again to interlace their fingers. "Wanna head back now?"

Ly gave another tiny nod to that, and Ano gingerly led her home.

* * *

Ano entered her room after working her shift, another round of gathering information from the patrons in the bar. Her shifts were weird like that, because she could circulate through the room and gather all the information needed in an hour.

Then have time to kill, because no new information would come in after that point unless new patrons walk in.

So, her shifts were generally short and scattered, and never have a real schedule to them.

Ly chose to stay upstairs through it all, something the info-broker didn't mind agreeing to. She didn't want to force the girl into anything she wasn't ready for, but she was a little worried. The thief did stress she'd be fine on her own waiting for Ano to finish, at least.

Ano still finished her shift extra fast, just in case.

As the info-broker kicked her boots off by the door, she saw Lylac peacefully sleeping on the bed, a bookmarked novel laying on the nightstand next to her.

She'd taken off her coat and shoes, jeans bunched up on the floor to make herself comfortable. And as Ano looked at her, she couldn't help but smile softly at the cute sight of her curled up partially beneath the covers.

 _She decided to nap through my shift, huh?_

Anoel left her jacket by her desk and silently made her way over to the bed, crawling onto the mattress to situate herself near Ly, but not close enough to wake her by accident.

If Ly wanted to nap, Ano didn't mind that. She wasn't supposed to work again until later tonight, when a new round of patrons roll in.

And there was a little paperwork to do, but she could push that off for now.

This was a better way to spend her time.

Anoel slowly curled up next to Lylac on the bed, sliding herself over just far enough to lie next to the girl, but keep out of touch for now. She wanted to wait for Ly to wake up on her own.

So, she lied there, just like that, until she did.

Ano wasn't sure how long she _did_ lie there, but by the time Ly finally stirred, the info-broker was roused from her drowsy state, awoken by the sudden shifting of Lylac's legs as the girl stretched.

A soft groan made its way out of the girl's mouth, moving out of her curled up position to lay on her back and extend her limbs before her eyes fluttered open.

Anoel watched every move with a look of tired adoration, a quiet hum filtering through her quirked lips as she stayed lying down next to the girl.

"Have a good nap?" Ano asked quietly.

Lylac turned to face her, a noticeable amount of liveliness in her pink and blue stare as she nodded.

"Mhmm…" she hummed as a she yawned a little, her eyes closing as her right arm wrapped around Ano's slim frame. "Did you finish your work?"

Ano couldn't help but giggle a little as she let the arm loop around her, feeling Ly pull her in. The info-broker calmly but cheekily pecked the corner of Lylac's yawning mouth before resting her head back against the bed.

"I have one more shift in an hour when the later patrons come in. But that's it," Ano replied quietly.

Ly nodded tiredly as her body shuffled into Anoel's, growing surprisingly close with her as she melted into Ano's enwrapping arms. "That's okay…"

Her voice came out in a light whisper as her eyes closed, her lips curling into the tiniest of smiles as her face burrowed into Ano a little more.

Anoel was admittedly a little taken off guard. This was the first time Ly was initiating it, so she was a bit unresponsive for a few moments before she accepted it.

She just affectionately cuddled the girl with her own warmth and nuzzled back, smiling as she tucked her chin against the top of Ly's burrowed head.

"Not gonna touch my wings this time and turn me into a purring mess?" Ano joked quietly, her drowsiness still settling in as she pressed an appreciative kiss into Ly's hair. She wanted to nap too, but she knew she had work to deal with.

Information never rests. So, she couldn't let herself get left behind.

Lylac shook her head while it was buried into Ano's chest before sleepily responding. "I don't wanna do that unless you're comfortable with it…"

A soft, quiet sliding of cloth and brushing sheets filled the air for a moment as Anoel lifted her lips from Ly's nestled head. "Is it bad that I want it, though…? It felt good… the last time you did it…" Ano admitted, smiling despite the faint blush reddening her cheeks.

Ly lightly hummed as Ano felt the hot air against her chest. "Are you asking me to do it more?" The thief's question came out in a completely innocent tone, but the info-broker couldn't help but feel like she was playing a little.

"I… think so," Anoel returned, one of her wings sliding down between them to nudge into Ly's fingers and palm. "If you're okay with it, I… wouldn't mind getting used to you touching me like that."

Ano felt her embarrassed blush spreading even more as she said that, but she meant it.

Ly giggled a little as she pulled away from the embrace, just enough to look into Ano's eyes as her little smile widened. "I need to be able to reach them first…"

Anoel's wings shifted out of the way as the girl nodded, pushing herself up on her arms to crawl slightly over Ly and gaze down at her. "How do you want me?"

She could always lie on top of her again, but wanted Ly to move her where _she_ wanted. To make it comfortable for both of them.

"Still, but comfortable," the girl replied bluntly, her hands already moving to feel their way through the glossy black feathers within reach, Ly's delicate touch sending shivers down Anoel's spine as it reached the crook of her wings. The _same_ spot she abused in the morning when they woke up.

Ano _desperately_ tried to keep still like Ly said, but her slim arms holding her up quickly started to quiver as a visible struggle formed on her face. And after another small stroking touch, Ano's arms crumpled into a heap as she fell on top of Ly beneath her, sighing in bliss and blushing in embarrassment that she couldn't hold herself up.

"Am I doing okay?" Lylac asked curiously as her thumbs firmly massaged into Ano's feathers and mirrored sensitive spots, practically playing with her nervous system with steady circular motions.

The melting phoenix felt like heated putty again as she stammered out a squeaked, affirmative hum, body settling into Ly's in a loose, but limp grasp.

The cute aggressor only doubled her efforts in response, _really_ taking advantage of what she was doing and moving away, trying to find other parts of her wings that were just as sensitive with reckless abandon.

It all turned Ano into mush as the girl's wings quivered and stretched, craning into Ly's touch wherever it went to seek out more of it as Anoel lost all tension in her body.

Her eyes slowly closed away, face lax and flushed as it pressed firmly into Ly's neck as that touch continued to wander.

And she was pretty sure it was _her_ embarrassingly whimpering whenever those fingers drew closer to the other sensitive places of her wings, her body actually quivering softly at how much she wanted the girl to find more of them.

And as it turned out, Lylac was exceptionally good at just that, using Ano's tiny squeaks and whines as audible cues, indicating exactly where the most sensitive spots on the phoenix's wings were.

Ly was only interested in giving them the same treatment as the first… and turning Anoel into a _puddle_ as she did so.

Ano didn't even realize her purring had come back until then, and she didn't try to stop it. She knew she couldn't.

The cooed purrs just rumbled out of her as she whimpered and bent into the touches, losing herself into it the longer it went on.

An hour passed before Ly slowed down, her head turning to the clock on the nightstand, completely ignoring the book she had been reading to check the time before she sucked in a gasp.

"Hey… Ano? Aren't you supposed to go back downstairs…?"

It took Anoel a few long seconds to even realize Ly was saying something, but as that touch slowed down, the info-broker whimpered and nipped needfully at Lylac's shoulder and neck to bring it back.

She didn't care about work right now. She didn't care about _any_ of that right now. She _needed_ Lylac's touch. And her selfish nipping didn't quit until it finally came back.

After gasping at Anoel's instinctual response, Lylac decided to continue massaging her wings, wordlessly acquiescing to Ano's neediness as her fingers explored the black silky feathers again.

Ano couldn't remember waking up again until the following morning.


End file.
